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Julian Assange will appeal against extradition to Sweden

JULIAN ASSANGE: Why is it that I am subject – a non-profit, free speech activist – to a $360,000 bail? Why is it that I am kept under electronic house arrest when I have not even been charged in any country?

Wikileaks founder to appeal extradition decision, ABC  25/02/2011 TONY EASTLEY: A London court has ordered that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be sent from the UK to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.His defence lawyers have argued the former computer hacker won’t get a fair trial in a country where they say he’s regarded as “public enemy number one”.Mr Assange has already flagged he’ll appeal against the British ruling. From London Rachael Brown reports. RACHAEL BROWN: There was no flicker of surprise on the face of the WikiLeaks boss. He’s seen this coming from the start.JULIAN ASSANGE: Of course we have always known that we would appeal; we have always known that in all likelihood we would have to appeal.

RACHAEL BROWN: He describes it as a rubber stamp deportation. his lawyer says it’s “tick box justice”.

Julian Assange says the magistrate was simply hamstrung by international conventions……MARK STEPHENS: The judge made a very important finding in relation to both the fact of a secret trial in Sweden, which is an anathema to the open justice principle which we in this country and I think in most civilised countries of the world hold very dear.

RACHAEL BROWN: The defence team still hopes the case never makes it to Sweden.

MARK STEPHENS: Of course we have to remember that at this point Julian remains uncharged. He has yet, hasn’t had all the material against him. The judge was unable to assess the material against him.

And of course we haven’t seen the exculpatory material – the SMSs, the deletions from the online community and that kind of thing.

RACHAEL BROWN: Within the next week Julian Assange will lodge his appeal. That could drag proceedings out for a year.

Then of course there’s the European Court of Appeal the WikiLeaks boss can apply to when he exhausts his UK options.

In the meantime Mr Assange has been released on bail on the same terms he was granted in December…….JULIAN ASSANGE: Why is it that I am subject – a non-profit, free speech activist – to a $360,000 bail? Why is it that I am kept under electronic house arrest when I have not even been charged in any country?

AM – Wikileaks founder to appeal extradition decision 25/02/2011

February 25, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | civil liberties, UK, Wikileaks