News / EU

UN panel concludes Assange detention illegal: Sweden

Thursday, 04 February 2016 5:48 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 February 2016 5:48 PM ]

Demonstrators hold banners on February 4, 2016 outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is staying. ©AP

Sweden says a ruling by a United Nations panel has described the detention of the founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks in the Ecuadorian embassy in London as "illegal."

Julian Assange complained in September 2014 to the United Nations that he was being "arbitrarily detained" and "deprived of his liberty” as he could not leave the diplomatic mission without being taken into custody.

On Thursday, Britain's state-run BBC understood that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) is due to formally publish on Friday the findings of its investigation into the case, ruling in favor of Assange.

Later in the day, Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Katarina Byrenius Roslund said the Geneva-based panel had concluded that it "was an arbitrary detention."

The UNWGAD conclusion “is a different assessment than what the Swedish authorities have made,” she added.

Meanwhile, Assange's lawyer Per Samuelsson said a ruling in his client's favor meant Swedish chief prosecutor Marianne Ny would have to ask a court to lift the arrest warrant issued against the Australian activists.

Melinda Taylor, a legal spokeswoman for Assange, also noted if the UN panel “finds that the standard for arbitrary detention is met, we would expect his release and compensation."

The Swedish Prosecution Authority, however, said that the UN panel ruling had no formal impact on an ongoing probe into rape allegations against the WikiLeaks founder.

The photo taken on August 19, 2012, shows Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as he addresses members of the media and his supporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. ©AFP

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012. The activist secured political asylum from Quito after he lost a legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he is facing questioning over rape and sexual abuse allegations.

The activist denies the abuse accusations, describing them as a ploy to send him to the US, where he is wanted over the release of thousands of US’ classified documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on his whistleblower website.

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