Julian Assange loses bid to block extradition to Sweden

Julian Assange has lost his high court bid to block extradition to Sweden to face rape allegations, and could be removed to the country within 10 days.

The 40-year-old WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief was contesting an arrest warrant issued in Sweden after two women in Stockholm levelled allegations of rape and sexual assault in August 2010.

• See the full judgment [PDF].

Assange now has 14 days to seek permission from the high court to appeal to the supreme court. If granted, the case could roll on into next year, with Assange remaining on conditional bail until a supreme court hearing.

This morning's ruling follows an appeal hearing in July in which Assange's lawyer, Ben Emmerson QC, argued that the European arrest warrant issued against Assange was not valid for several reasons, including the claim that it was not issued by a judicial authority and did not pass a proportionality test.

But judges Sir John Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley ruled today that the seriousness of the alleged offences, and the fact that Assange's challenge to the arrest warrant in Stockholm's Svea Court of Appeal had already been denied in Novemeber 2010, rendered the EAW proportionate.

For the previous 11 months Assange has been under house arrest at the country estate of Vaughan Smith, who founded the Frontline Club, a members' club for foreign correspondents. He has had to wear a electronic tag and report to a local police station every day.

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