The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, will on Tuesday try to win his release from prison, a week after being ordered to be held on remand as Sweden requested his arrest over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women.
But even if the judge at Westminster magistrates court in London grants Mr. Assange bail, he could still be held.
The Crown Prosecution Service, which will represent the Swedish authorities in the U.K. court, has the right to appeal against any bail decision. Usually the suspect would still be held in custody anyway until an appeal hearing.
Raj Joshi, a former head of the European and international division at the CPS, and an expert on extradition, said: “If they feel they have grounds for opposing bail, they would be duty bound to appeal that. He’ll be held pending the appeal, and until it is decided. That hearing is usually held within 48 hours.” The chances of Mr. Assange going underground, given that his face was “plastered all around the world”, were low, he added. “With a number of conditions, such as, maybe, a tag, it would be difficult to see why bail would not be granted.” The decision to oppose bail will be made by the Swedish authorities, with Britain’s CPS merely representing their interests in Tuesday’s hearing. Speculation that the U.S. could lodge an extradition request continued over the weekend, but it is regarded as highly unlikely any such request would be lodged on Tuesday.
Baroness Kennedy, who has extensive experience in human rights, has joined Mr. Assange’s defence team.
His case has stirred fresh controversy about European arrest warrants, which the Swedish authorities would use for his extradition. Baroness Ludford MEP, the Liberal Democrat European justice and human rights spokeswoman, claimed the arrest warrant system, which she said she supported, was being used by Sweden to carry out a fishing expedition. Sweden had yet to formally charge Mr. Assange with any offence.
In a letter to the Guardian , Ludford wrote that past cases showed that it was “not a legitimate purpose for an EAW to be used to conduct an investigation to see whether that person should be prosecuted”.
Ludford added: “Normal cross-border cooperation on collection of evidence or interrogation of suspects called ‘mutual legal assistance’, using for example video-conferencing or a summons for temporary transfer of a suspect, should be used when more appropriate. I urge the U.K. courts to refuse to allow the Assange EAW to be a fishing expedition without a pending actual prosecution. EU rules should be properly respected so that the integrity of the European arrest warrant process is protected.” Ahead of the case, lawyers on Monday visited Mr. Assange in Wandsworth prison, south London, where the 39-year-old is being held in the segregation unit.
The decision by the district judge Howard Riddle to remand Mr. Assange into custody was made despite the film director Ken Loach, the veteran journalist John Pilger, and the socialite Jemima Khan, offering sureties for him totalling GBP180,000. The judge had concluded that because of the “serious” nature of the allegations against Mr. Assange, his “comparatively weak community ties” in the U.K., and the fact it was believed he had the financial means and the ability to abscond, there was a substantial risk he would fail to surrender to the courts.
The allegations about Mr. Assange were made by two women. The first complainant, known as Miss A, said she was the victim of “unlawful coercion” on the night of 14 August in 2009 in Stockholm. The court heard Mr. Assange was alleged to have “forcefully” held her arms and used his body weight to hold her down. The second charge alleged he had “sexually molested” her by having sex without using a condom. A third charge claimed Mr. Assange “deliberately molested” Miss A on 18 August.
A fourth charge, relating to a woman called Miss W, alleges that on 17 August, Mr. Assange “improperly exploited” a situation where she was asleep, to have sex with her without using a condom.
A poll by Comres for CNN revealed on Monday that 44% of Britons believe the charges against Mr. Assange are an excuse to place him in custody so the U.S. can prosecute him over the U.S. embassy cable leaks. But the same number say he should be sent to Sweden for questioning.
Copyright: Guardian News & Media 2010
