LONDON, U.K. - The Supreme Court refused to review WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange's repeal to extradition. This means that Assange will be extradited to Sweden, where he will face charges of sexual abuse and rape.
A statement released by British Supreme Court stated," The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has dismissed the application made by Ms. Dinah Rose QC, counsel for Mr. Julian Assange, seeking to reopen their appeal," as reported by the AFP.
According to court orders, the actual extradition will not take place until the 14th day after today.
As expected Assange's lawyer Dinah Rose, filed to repeal the decision of the extradition case he lost last month. The Court in London had ruled 5 to 2 against Assange on May 30. According to the ruling, Assange was given two weeks to submit an appeal before he was extradited to Sweden where he is accused of rape and sexual assault.
Supreme Court Spokesman, Ben Wilson told the media yesterday that the court could refuse to reopen the case if they choose to and that is exactly what they did. The case had been going on for two years.
Assange, 40, has been under conditional bail since his arrest in December 2010 when two female co-workers at Wikileaks alleged that he had committed these sex crimes. Assange denies these allegations and claims they are politically motivated.
However, the extradition case had little to do with these allegations, and instead is a question of the validity of the extradition warrant issued to him. Assange's arrest was warranted by prosecutors, not a judge or magistrate. Assange's team argues that according to the European arrest warrant and the Extradition Act of 2003, only "judicial authorities" can establish arrest warrants. These authorities do not include prosecutors and therefore the extradition is not valid. The Justices did not agree.
Julian Assange rose to fame in 2010 when he leaked a number of US diplomatic cables and videos regarding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan through his co-founded online organization Wikileaks. The organization stirred great derision from Washington and other countries whose secrets were divulged. Assange and his team argue that there is foul play in the alleged sex crimes allegations and that these accusations are sponsored by a number of upset politicians.
