Assange in Last Bid to Dodge Extradition

WikiLeaks founder faces Britain's supreme court
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 1, 2012 9:03 AM CST
Assange in Last Bid to Dodge Extradition
Supporters of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder wait for his arrival outside the Supreme Court in London, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012.   (Alastair Grant)

Julian Assange took his extradition battle to Britain's Supreme Court today, arguing that sending him to Sweden would violate a fundamental principle of natural law. The two-day hearing is Assange's last chance to persuade British judges to quash efforts to send him to Scandinavia, where he is wanted on sex crimes allegations. The case hinges on a single technical point: whether Sweden's public prosecutor can properly issue a warrant for Assange's arrest.

In Britain, generally only judges can issue arrest warrants. Lawyers for Sweden argue that, in Sweden as in other European countries, prosecutors play a judicial or semi-judicial role. Assange lawyer Dinah Rose rejected that argument today, telling the seven justices in Britain's highest court that a prosecutor "does not, and indeed cannot as a matter of principle, exercise judicial authority. No one may be a judge in their own case." The UK justices will hear lawyers for the prosecution tomorrow. Their decision isn't expected for several weeks. (More Julian Assange stories.)

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