UK court frees WikiLeaks’ Assange on bail

Adrian Croft
Reuters
Dec 14, 2010

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrested in Britain on Swedish allegations of sex crimes, was freed on bail by a British court on Tuesday.

Judge Howard Riddle granted him bail with conditions until another hearing on Jan. 11.

The 39-year-old Australian, whose website has provoked U.S. fury by publishing some of a trove of 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic papers, was accused this year of sexual misconduct by two female Swedish WikiLeaks volunteers during a stay in Sweden.

Assange denies the allegations and is fighting Swedish attempts to extradite him.

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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange bailed but release delayed

The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been granted bail in London on conditions including cash guarantees of £240,000.

But he will remain in prison pending an appeal against the bail decision, which has been lodged by Swedish prosecutors.

His lawyer Mark Stephens said the case was turning into a "show trial".

Mr Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden, accused of sexually assaulting two women. He denies the charges, and says they are politically motivated.

A large crowd including demonstrators, reporters and a number of Mr Assange's high-profile supporters gathered outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for the bail hearing on Tuesday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11989216

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Sweden To Appeal WikiLeaks Founder's Bail

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted bail but is facing another 48 hours in jail as Swedish authorities have appealed the decision.

Assange appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for a fresh bail appeal against an extradition bid by Sweden over rape allegations, which he denied.

But after being granted bail Assange must now stay in custody for another two days during the Swedish appeal.

"They want to put Mr Assange through more hurdles and expense," Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens told reporters outside court.

"This is really turning into a show trial and we will be in court again with the next 48 hours," Mr Stephens said.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...peal_For_Bail_