WikiLeaks founder Julian AssangeWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by British Police on a European Arrest Warrant, on behalf of the Swedish authorities over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden.
A fresh arrest warrant was issued by the Swedish authorities against Assange over allegations of sexual assault ."Officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit have this morning arrested Julian Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape," a police statement said.
"Julian Assange, 39, was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant by appointment at a London police station at 9.30 a.m.," it added.
His lawyers said earlier that Assange had agreed to speak with Scotland Yard officers following the receipt of a European Union arrest warrant Monday.
Assange is due to appear in court in London later on Tuesday.The 39-year-old Australian has been under intense pressure since the release of over 250,000 secret US diplomatic documents in recent weeks.
Kristinn Hrafnsson, spokesman for WikiLeaks, said Assange had been forced to keep a low profile after several threats on his life.
Sweden's Supreme Court upheld a court order to detain Assange for questioning on suspicion of "rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion" after he appealed against two lower court rulings. He denies the allegations.
His details were also added to Interpol's most wanted website, alerting police forces around the world.
Mark Stephens, Assange's British lawyer, said: "We are in discussions about him going to the police by consent."
Assange suffered another setback Monday when Swiss authorities closed one of his bank accounts, one of the sources of funding for the WikiLeaks site.
Assange's troubles deepened when his Swiss bank account was shut down after it was found he had given a false address "The Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account opening process."
No comments:
Post a Comment