Britain Lets Wikileaks Founder Continue to Appeal Extradition

Posted December 5th, 2011 at 8:15 am (UTC-5)
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Britain's High Court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can continue fighting his extradition to Sweden.

Assange, who has been free on bail, was accused by two Swedish women of rape and sexual assault in August of 2010. He says the sex was consensual and has denied wrongdoing, claiming the allegations are politically motivated.

In a ruling Monday, the judges accepted Assange's argument that the case is of special public interest. He now has 14 days to submit a written request for an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Swedish prosecutors have not charged Assange with any crime, but want to question him in the case.

WikiLeaks has released hundreds of thousands of classified documents lifted from the computer files of U.S. diplomatic and military operations.

U.S. authorities are investigating whether Assange broke any laws.

In October, Assange said his organization is suspending the publishing of secret documents in order to concentrate on fundraising to ensure its future survival. Assange said a financial blockade by American companies such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal means WikiLeaks will have to aggressively focus on raising money.