LONDON – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday vowed he was ready to fight a lengthy legal battle after a British judge ruled he should be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of rape. Lawyers for the 39-year-old Australian said they would appeal against judge Howard Riddle’s decision to reject defence arguments that Assange would face an unfair trial that would breach his human rights.
Speaking after the hearing at Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court in London, Assange criticised the European system under which he was detained in December over claims that he sexually abused two women in Sweden. “It is a result of the European Arrest Warrant system run amok. There was no consideration during this entire process as to the merits of the allegations against me,” he told around 100 journalists from across the globe.
Celebrity backers including socialite Jemima Khan and rights campaigner Bianca Jagger also attended the hearing. Several dozen supporters, some of them in orange Guantanamo Bay-style jumpsuits, demonstrated outside the court.
Assange appeals against extradition
