- Went into hiding at embassy when he was facing extradition over sex allegations
- Since dropped but arrest warrant for breaching his bail terms remained in place
- His lawyer’s claim that this should be dropped was today rejected by magistrates
Julian Assange’s legal battle to walk free from the Ecuadorian embassy was blocked after a court refused to throw out an outstanding UK arrest warrant today.
The Wikileaks founder, 46, has been in the bolthole in Knightsbridge, central London since 2012 after a rape allegation was made in Sweden, which he denied.
Legal proceedings in Sweden were dropped last May, and a European arrest warrant was withdrawn.
The Wikileaks founder, 46, (pic on Jan 24) has been in the bolthole in Knightsbridge, central London since 2012 after a rape allegation was made in Sweden, which he denied
But he still faced arrest in the UK for jumping bail in 2012, when he sought asylum in the Embassy and failed to surrender to court.
The activist fears if arrested he could be extradited to America where he is wanted for leaking highly secretive documents.
Lawyers for Assange argued last month the fail to appear warrant had lost its purpose, and applied for it to be withdrawn.
Prosecutors opposed it, and said it would be ‘absurd were a defendant effectively to be rewarded with immunity to evade proceedings for so long that they fell away for whatever reason’.
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot told the packed hearing and public gallery at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the challenge had failed.
‘On a straight forward reading of the section: One, Mr Assange has been bailed; two, he has failed to surrender; three, if he has no reasonable cause he will be guilty of an offence.
‘Once at court, a defendant will be given an opportunity to put an argument for reasonable cause.
‘And that is when Mr Assange will be able to place that before the court. I’m not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn.’
Assange leaving Belmarsh Magistrates Court after his extradition hearing to Sweden to be prosecuted over claims of sexual assault in 2011
In a string of tweets posted following the decision, Mr Assange dismissed ‘wall to wall fake news stating stating the government won today’s hearing’
In a string of tweets posted following the decision, Mr Assange dismissed ‘wall to wall fake news stating stating the government won today’s hearing’.
He added: ‘Nothing of the sort has happened. The hearing is still happening. Only one point has been ruled on.’
‘Judge has ruled against the first technical point the court now expected to hear & decide on the other points,’ Mr Assange said in another tweet.