The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has failed to avoid extradition to Sweden to face rape charges after losing a 3rd appeal. Australian born Assange will now be deported to Stockholm in 2 weeks time unless he decides to appeal the decision in the European Court of Human Rights. Assange’s legal team had argued that the extradition was issued by a prosecutor and not a judge; however, the court ruled 5 – 2 against Assange. The court’s judgment read: “By a majority the court has concluded that the Swedish public prosecutor was a ‘judicial authority’ … “.
Assange claims he is innocent of the crimes he has been charged with and his supporters believe the allegations have been fabricated in a bid to eventually charge him in the US for leaking government information. Two Swedish women claim Assange raped and molested them when he was visiting Sweeden in 2010; Assange claims it was consensual sex.
Last year Assange made his first ever public address at a Music Festival via a recorded video at Splendour in the Grass, where he discussed the powers struggling for control of the internet; you can watch it in full below:
