WikiLeaks founder Assange can be extradited, rules court | WPN World People News

Britain's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

Assange's lawyers had asked Britain's highest court to block his removal saying the arrest warrant issued against him was 'invalid and unenforceable'.

However, the Supreme Court judges announced that they have dismissed his appeal by a majority of five to two.

The court has given his lawyers two weeks to contest the ruling.

Assange's extradition has been put on hold until he decides whether to challenge the ruling.

Assange was not present for the hearing. His lawyers said he was stuck in traffic. His team indicated they would reopen the case at the Supreme Court.

The Swedish authorities want Assange, 40, extradited over accusations of raping one woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in Stockholm in August 2010 while on a visit to give a lecture.

Assange has maintained the sex was consensual and the allegations against him are politically motivated.

He gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing thousands of US diplomatic cables about Iraq and Afghanistan, in the largest leak of classified documents in the US history.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said he saw Washington's hand in the court ruling. "This is not the final outcome. What we have here is retribution from the US," he said.

Source: Britain News.Net