Assange starts legal battle against extradition from UK
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Feb 7, IRNA -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Monday started what is expected to be a long legal battle to prevent being extradited from the UK with his lawyer warning of a 'flagrant denial of justice' if he is sent to Sweden.
His barrister Geoffrey Robertson also expressed fears his 39-year old Australian client also risked being extradited to the US, or even Guantanamo Bay, and could face the death penalty as a result of separate charges relating to Wikileaks.
Assange was 'willing and able' to co-operate with Swedish authorities relating to sexual assault claims that date back to August, so no extradition warrant was needed, the defence team argued.
His detention under a European Arrest Warrant in December was “invalid” because he has not yet been charged, the extradition hearing at London's Belmarsh Magistrates' Court was told.
The charges, which have been denied by Assange, have been linked with a tightening of a legal noose around WikiLeaks after the website started to publish extracts from over 250,000 secret US embassy cables.
Swiss bank, PostFinance, has announced it had frozen his accounts worth 31,000 euros on a technicality about his residence, while several internet companies including PayPal and Amazon also ended WikiLeaks’ services.
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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30229436
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