Sweden's Supreme Court Upholds Detention Warrant for Assange - Reports

The WikiLeaks founder argues that his extradition to Sweden is a ruse to hand him over to the United States, where he faces espionage charges.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Swedish Supreme Court said that it would uphold the detention order for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Reuters news agency reported Monday.

Last month, Wikileaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson told Sputnik that the Swedish Supreme Court would most likely review lifting the arrest warrant against Assange.

Assange, an Australian national, has been wanted in Sweden in connection with accusations of sexual assault since 2010 but has never been formally charged. The WikiLeaks founder denied the accusations and is currently staying at the Ecuadorean embassy, facing detention and extradition to Sweden if he steps outside.

Julian Assange argues that his extradition to Sweden is a ruse to hand him over to the United States, where he faces espionage charges.

In February, Assange filed an appeal to Sweden’s highest court in February in an attempt to persuade Swedish prosecutors that severe limitations of freedom equaled a deprivation of liberty under the European convention on human rights.