AS IT APPEARS, THERE IS STILL A SMALL RAY OF HOPE FOR ASSANGE

AS IT APPEARS, THERE IS STILL A SMALL RAY OF HOPE FOR ASSANGE

SOME BETTER NEWS ON ASSANGE'S COURT HEARING

IT APPEARS THAT THE COURT HEARING IS STILL GOING, AS PER ASSANGE'S TWEET IN RESPONSE TO TODAY'S HEADLINES THAT HIS BID TO DROP THE BAIL CHARGE FAILED

The WikiLeaks founder maintains his bid to have UK charges dropped is not over

Julian Assange has reacted angrily after a British judge upheld an arrest warrant that leaves the WikiLeaks founder still a wanted man in the country where he has spent more than five years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected a call from Mr Assange’s lawyers for the warrant to be revoked because he is no longer wanted for questioning in Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

The UK arrest warrant was issued in 2012 for jumping bail.

“I am not persuaded the warrant should be withdrawn,” Ms Arbuthnot told lawyers, journalists and Assange supporters gathered at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning (AEDT) .

However, she allowed Mr Assange’s lawyer to make a new set of arguments, and said she would rule on them next week.

In a string of tweets posted following the decision, Mr Assange dismissed “wall to wall fake news stating the government won today’s hearing”.

He added: “Nothing of the sort has happened. The hearing is still happening. Only one point has been ruled on.”

“Judge has ruled against the first technical point the court now expected to hear & decide on the other points,” Assange said in another tweet.

Mr Assange, 46, has been holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London since he took refuge there in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Swedish prosecutors at the time were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made by two women in 2010.

Swedish prosecutors dropped the case last year, saying there was no prospect of bringing Mr Assange to Sweden in the foreseeable future. But Assange was still subject to the British warrant for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.

Ms Arbuthnot said that if Mr Assange wanted the warrant lifted he should surrender to authorities and come to court.

She said he would be able to argue his case and “put an argument for reasonable cause” for breaching his bail conditions.

After the ruling, the judge agreed to let Mr Assange’s lawyer, Mark Summers, argue in his client’s absence that WikiLeaks founder had “at all times” offered to cooperate with the Swedish investigation that the warrant should be lifted because it was no longer in the public interest to arrest him.

Mr Summers said Mr Assange had health problems including depression, and argued that the five and a half years he has spent inside the embassy were more than adequate punishment for his actions.

Ms Arbuthnot said she would rule on those arguments on February 13.

Had the judge ruled in Mr Assange’s favour on Wednesday, he would have been free to leave the embassy without being arrested on the British warrant.

However, Mr Assange suspects there is a secret US indictment against him for WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked classified American military and diplomatic documents, and that the US authorities will seek his extradition.

Julian Assange remains "willing to answer to British justice" – but "not at the risk of injustice in America", his lawyer says ON THE VIDEO OF THIS ARTICLE


Earlier this month, Ecuador said it had granted the Australian-born hacker citizenship, as the South American country tried to unblock the years-long stalemate that has kept Mr Assange as its house guest.

SEE THE ARTICLE IN THE LINK BELOW TO SEE ASSANGE'S TWEETS AND THE ABOVE NOTED VIDEO

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2018/02/07/julian-assange-uk-verdict/
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2018/02/07/julian-assange-uk-verdict/