Judge to rule on WikiLeaks founder Assange’s extradition

    0
    50

    A judge in Britain is expected to rule Thursday on whether Assange, an Australian, should be extradited to Sweden.

    STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    • Assange has not been charged with a crime
    • Officials want to question him in connection with sexual misconduct allegations
    • Lawyer believes Sweden will hand Assange over to the United States

    London (CNN) — A judge in Britain is expected to rule Thursday on whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden.

    Assange has not been charged with a crime, but Swedish prosecutors want to question him in connection with sexual misconduct allegations related to separate incidents in August.

    Assange denies the accusations, and his attorneys are fighting his extradition on procedural and human-rights grounds.

    Assange’s attorney, Geoffrey Robertson, has argued that Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden. They argue that Swedish prosecutors have improperly leaked details of the case.

    Robertson said remarks attributed to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt have created a “toxic atmosphere” for Assange, who he said is viewed as “public enemy number one” in Sweden. The prime minister suggested that Assange believed women’s rights were worthless, Robertson said in court.

    Assange’s website, WikiLeaks, has published tens of thousands of once-secret U.S. documents on subjects ranging from the war in Afghanistan to the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy.

    Assange’s lawyers have raised the possibility that Sweden would hand him over to the United States if Britain extradites him to Sweden.

    Prosecutor Clare Montgomery, representing Sweden, has dismissed that claim.

    CNN’s Andrew Carey contributed to this report.


    See more here:
    Judge to rule on WikiLeaks founder Assange’s extradition