Connect with us

International

WIKILEAKS: Assange’s lawyer tells Swedish court to drop arrest warrant

Published

on

WIKILEAKS: Assange’s lawyer tells Swedish court to drop arrest warrant

The lawyer representing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has asked a Swedish court to drop the arrest warrant against his client who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012.

Assange’s Lawyer cites statements by US officials calling for his clients arrest as grounds for the Swedish court to repeal detention order placed on the 45-year-old WikiLeaks founder.

The lawyer, Per Samuelson fears Sweden would in turn hand him over to the US to face prosecution over the publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks, in one of the largest information leaks in US history.

Read also: Make contact ASAP to reduce tension of possible nuclear war, China tells US, N’Korea

He said the US had now openly said it wants to arrest Assange.

“Given that the US is obviously hunting him now, he has to make use of his political asylum and it is Sweden’s duty to make sure that he has to stay in the embassy,” Samuelson said.

“If they rescind the detention order, there is a possibility he can go to Ecuador and then he can use political asylum in an entire country.”

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for the past five years after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape, which he denies.

 

 

 

 

 

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now