Assange Slams Swedish Prosecutor Over Attempt to Influence Appeals Court Ruling

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday accused Sweden's Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny of attempting to influence the upcoming Swedish Court of Appeal ruling on Assange's appeal against his arrest warrant by giving a press conference lacking any substance.

STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — On Thursday, a Swedish prosecutor said that Stockholm's court would announce its decision on whether to rescind the arrest warrant against the whistleblower on Friday. On Friday, a source in the court said that the ruling is expected next week.

Ny gave a press conference on Wednesday and dealt with details of the investigation which were not linked to any significant news or progress made in the case.

The prosecutor's obsession with publicity and prestige has put her ability to conduct a fair, impartial and professional trial into question, Assange said, as quioted by the Swedish TT news agency.

Assange has reportedly requested his lawyers to lodge a note of protest against the prosecutor.

Assange has been residing at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, out of fear of being extradited to Sweden where he has been accused of sexual assault and rape. He denies the allegations, claiming they are a ruse organized by Washington to further extradite him to the United States to try him for leaking thousands of top-secret military documents and embassy cables detailing Washington's war crimes in Iraq.

In February, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) ruled that Assange's deprivation of liberty by Sweden was unlawful. On August 9, Assange lodged an appeal with a Swedish court, calling on the country to comply with a UN ruling recognizing his deprivation of liberty as unlawful.