UK court rules Wikileaks Assange can be tried in Sweden

Britain’s Supreme Court has decided Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

Lawyers for the Australian claimed that a European Arrest Warrant was invalid because it was issued by a Swedish prosecutor instead of a judge.

However, the UK court recognised the authority of the prosecutor by a majority of 5-2.

President of the Supreme Court Lord Nicholas Phillips said: “The majority has concluded that the Swedish public prosecutor was a judicial authority, within both the framework decision and the extradition act.”

The 40-year-old has been under strict bail conditions and staying with a wealthy supporter.

Some of Assange’s defenders, like journalist and film-maker John Pilger, criticise the technical nature of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“It’s a very disconnected judgement. It makes the law, to me, seem rather shabby actually, and I’m not talking about that simply because they found against Assange. It is their arguments which are not based on what MPs understood the law to be when they passed the extradition legislation in 2001,” said Pilger.

Assange has been fighting a lengthy legal battle since being arrested 18 months ago for charges on rape and sexual assault, which he denies.

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