UK court grants bail to WikiLeaks' Julian Assange

UK court grants bail to WikiLeaks' Julian Assange (AP)
A supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wearing a mask depicting him and a US flag on his mouth, partiipates at demonstrate outside theS wedish Embassy In central London, Monday, Dec. 13, 2010 Assange remains in a U.K. jail ahead of a Dec. 14 hearing where he plans to fight Sweden's request to extradite him to face sex crimes allegations there. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

(AP) -- A British judge granted bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday, saying he must abide by strict bail conditions as he fights extradition to Sweden in a sex-crimes investigation.

The 39-year-old Australian has been held in a London prison for a week after surrendering to Scotland Yard due to a Swedish arrest warrant.

Assange is wanted for questioning after two women accused him of sexual misconduct in separate encounters in Sweden over the summer. Lawyers for Assange say he denies the allegations and will contest Sweden's attempt to extradite him.

A number of eminent international figures had offered to post bond worth at least 200,000 pounds ($315,000) to help secure Assange's release, his lawyer, high-profile human rights advocate Geoffrey Robertson, told the hearing in London on Tuesday.

Lawyer Gemma Lindfield, acting on behalf of Swedish authorities, asked the court to deny Assange bail because the allegations in Sweden were serious, Assange had only weak ties to Britain and he had money enough "to abscond."

Supporters outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court erupted in cheers when they heard news of the judge's ruling.

©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Citation: UK court grants bail to WikiLeaks' Julian Assange (2010, December 14) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2010-12-assange-due-court-london-sex-crime.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

WikiLeaks founder is jailed in Britain in sex case

0 shares

Feedback to editors