Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to go free and be compensated for his “deprivation of liberty” while hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy, a UN panel has found.
Assange, 44, skipped bail and claimed asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, after his appeal against extradition to Sweden over a rape claim was denied.
The Australian national has always maintained his innocence over the rape allegation, and claims that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the US to face espionage charges for publishing private US government documents on the Wikileaks website.
The UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that Assange has effectively been arbitrarily detained since his original arrest in London over the Swedish rape allegations on 7 December 2010.
However, the panel’s ruling is not legally binding and the European arrest warrant issued by Sweden remains in place, meaning that the UK is legally obligated to arrest and extradite Assange to Sweden if he leaves the embassy.
The UK Foreign Office said the report “changes nothing” and it will “formally contest the working group’s opinion”. The Met Police said it will make “every effort” to arrest Mr Assange should he leave the embassy.
Had Assange been found guilty of rape in Sweden in 2010, he would likely have already been freed, as under Swedish law rape carries a prison term of between two and six years.
