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Thursday 16 December 2010

UK court grants Assange bail

High Court in London upholds decision to grant WikiLeaks' founder bail, after authorities challenged prior decision.
Last Modified: 16 Dec 2010 13:17 GMT

Julian Assange has been imprisoned since December 7, when he was arrested in London [Reuters]

An English court has upheld the decision to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange bail after authorities challenged a previous decision.

Duncan Ouseley, High Court justice, rejected the argument by prosecutors on Thursday that the 39-year-old Australian should stay in prison because there was a risk he would flee the country.

"The court does not approach this case on the basis that this is a fugitive from justice who seeks to avoid interrogation and prosecution," he said.

It is still unclear whether Assange will be freed immediately, with the London court discussing the terms of his bail which includes a request for $316,000 before he can be released.

Mark Stephens, his lawyer, said he expected his client to be released later on Thursday, but added that it was taking some time to sign off the bail money.

"We are expecting Julian to be released some time later today [or] on a worst case analysis tomorrow. But we really do expect him to be released today. Everybody is working very hard for that," he said outside court.

A host of well-known figures, including Jemima Khan, Bianca Jagger, film-maker Ken Loach and journalist John Pilger have pledged money towards Assange's bail.

If freed he would be required to stay at the large country estate of Vaughan Smith, founder of a London media club, in what Assange's lawyer termed "mansion arrest".

Thursday's hearing took place two days after a magistrate's court granted him release on the conditions he would wear an electronic tag, and obey a strict curfew.

Assange has been held in Wandsworth prison in south London since December 7, when he was arrested on a European arrest warrant for questioning over alleged sex crimes in Sweden.

Court case confusion

The court appearance came amid confusion over who brought the appeal against his case.

Initial reports suggested Swedish authorities had pushed to appeal Assange's bail, but a report in the Guardiannewspaper said it was British authorities who had made the move.

The Swedish prosecutor's office told the paper it had "not got a view at all on bail", saying the decision was made by the British prosecutor.

"I got it confirmed by the CPS this morning that the decision to appeal the granting of bail was entirely a matter for the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)," Karin Rosander, director of communications for Sweden's prosecutor's office, told the Guardian.

"The Swedish prosecutors are not entitled to make decisions within Britain. It is entirely up to the British authorities to handle it."

The CPS confirmed to Al Jazeera that it was up to the British prosecution to make the decision to appeal Assange's bail, saying it was standard practice in an international case such as this.

Political claims rejected

Supporters of the Australian say the allegations against him are trumped up, vindictive and possibly politically motivated.

Assange's British lawyer, Mark Stephens, said on Wednesday that "somebody has it in for Julian Assange and we only can conjecture why."

Lawyer Gemma Lindfield, acting for Sweden, said that Assange is accused of rape, molestation and unlawful coercion by two women for separate incidents in August.

She said one of the women had accused Assange of pinning her down and refusing to use a condom. A second woman says Assange had sex with her without a condom while he was a guest at her Stockholm home and she was asleep.

Assange, who has not been charged in Sweden, has denied any wrongdoing.

His lawyers say the allegations stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex" and argue that he has offered to make himself available for questioning via video link or in person in Britain.

Lindfield also rejected attempts to link Assange's case with the work of WikiLeaks - which last month deeply angered US officials by beginning to publish its trove of 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables.

"This is not a case about WikiLeaks, rather a case about alleged serious offences against two women," said Lindfield.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

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