The High Court in London ruled Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can apply to the Supreme Court in an attempt to block his extradition to Sweden over rape allegations. Two judges ruled that Assange’s case raised a question “of general public importance” which should be decided by the highest court in Britain “as quickly as possible”. Although the judges refused Assange permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, they ruled that the Supreme Court should have the last word and he can apply directly to it himself.
Assange, the 40-year-old founder of the whistleblowing website that has infuriated Washington by releasing hundreds of thousands of classified US documents, was in court to hear the judges’ ruling. He was arrested in London a year ago on a European arrest warrant and has been living at the country estate of a supporter under stringent bail conditions.