GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Julian Assange, Australian founder of WikiLeaks, could be in Sweden by the end of June after he lost his request to have his extradition case reopened. Sweden requested his extradition more than two years ago for hearings in a case where two women accused him of sexual misconduct. A UK court agreed but Assange appealed and for the past two years the case has languished as his lawyers fought his extradition on a number of legal points. Assange’s supporters have argued that the legal case is a political ruse; he says he had sex with the women, but it was consensual.
WikiLeaks was responsible for publishing a large number of classified government documents, most notably cables from the US State Department.
Assange had appealed at the end of May to Britain’s Supreme Court to reopen the case, a highly unusual move.
Links to other sites: The Australian, Guardian, Washington Post, Wired
