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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Julian Assange asks UK court to drop arrest warrant | Julian Assange asks UK court to drop arrest warrant |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WikiLeaks founder hopes ruling in his favour would allow him to leave Ecuadorian embassy | WikiLeaks founder hopes ruling in his favour would allow him to leave Ecuadorian embassy |
| Nadia Khomami | Nadia Khomami |
| Fri 26 Jan 2018 10.36 GMT | Fri 26 Jan 2018 10.36 GMT |
| Last modified on Fri 26 Jan 2018 11.06 GMT | |
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| The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has asked a UK court to drop the arrest warrant that prevents him from leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for five-and-a-half years. | The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has asked a UK court to drop the arrest warrant that prevents him from leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for five-and-a-half years. |
| Assange, 46, skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over an allegation of rape, which he denies. | Assange, 46, skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over an allegation of rape, which he denies. |
| Though Swedish prosecutors have dropped the investigation against him, Assange will be arrested if he leaves the building in Knightsbridge for breaching his former bail conditions in the UK. | Though Swedish prosecutors have dropped the investigation against him, Assange will be arrested if he leaves the building in Knightsbridge for breaching his former bail conditions in the UK. |
| Mark Summers QC told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday that now that the Swedish case has been dropped the warrant had “lost its purpose and its function”. | |
| Asked if a ruling in his favour in the court case could enable Assange to walk free, a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Hypothetically yes, that would be our interpretation.” | |
| Before the hearing at Westminster magistrates court, Gareth Peirce, representing Assange, told reporters it was a “simple issue concerning the warrant and its status”. | Before the hearing at Westminster magistrates court, Gareth Peirce, representing Assange, told reporters it was a “simple issue concerning the warrant and its status”. |
| “Given that proceedings have come to end, and the kind of warrant it is, the argument has no status because it’s attached to ongoing proceedings,” she said. | “Given that proceedings have come to end, and the kind of warrant it is, the argument has no status because it’s attached to ongoing proceedings,” she said. |
| In December, Assange was made an Ecuadorian citizen in an attempt to resolve the political impasse over his continued presence in the UK. However, the UK refused to grant him diplomatic status, which would have conferred legal immunity and allowed him to leave the embassy. | In December, Assange was made an Ecuadorian citizen in an attempt to resolve the political impasse over his continued presence in the UK. However, the UK refused to grant him diplomatic status, which would have conferred legal immunity and allowed him to leave the embassy. |
| “He is seeking to have the warrant of arrest discontinued because the Swedes have confirmed that the extradition warrant is no longer live,” the CPS spokesman said. “He is seeking that therefore the warrant of arrest should be taken out as well.” | “He is seeking to have the warrant of arrest discontinued because the Swedes have confirmed that the extradition warrant is no longer live,” the CPS spokesman said. “He is seeking that therefore the warrant of arrest should be taken out as well.” |
| Julian Assange | Julian Assange |
| Ecuador | Ecuador |
| Sweden | Sweden |
| Extradition | Extradition |
| UK criminal justice | UK criminal justice |
| Americas | Americas |
| news | news |
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