Assange Fate to Be Determined Next Week | Common Dreams

Assange Fate to Be Determined Next Week | Common Dreams
Common Dreams staff, May 23, 2012 by Common Dreams

Julian Assange will find out next Wednesday whether he will be extradited to Sweden to face sex crime allegations.


Assange talking to Occupy LSX. (photo: Matthew Taylor)

The UK's Supreme Court will make the announcement May 30.

Lawyers for Assange say the original arrest warrant is not valid, and Assange has maintained that the allegations are politically motivated.

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The Guardian: Julian Assange extradition verdict due next week

The supreme court will deliver its verdict next Wednesday on whether or not the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, should be deported to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

The short judgment on 30 May will include an explanation of the decision the seven-strong panel of justices reaches. It is expected to focus on the narrow issue of whether or not a European arrest warrant (EAW) issued by a prosecutor is valid.

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RT: Extradition showdown: UK Supreme Court to rule on Assange

Assange’s lawyers are calling on judges to block the extradition. They say that the initial European warrant that put Assange under house arrest in Britain over 500 days ago was “invalid and unenforceable” and that Swedish prosecutor had no authority to issue it. [...]

Julian Assange claims that the legal case against him is politically motivated and fabricated by governments outraged by their dirty secrets being published on the notorious whistleblowing WikiLeaks website.