Julian Assange arrives at the High Court in London. "Today the High Court has decided that an issue that arises from my own case is of general public importance and may be of assistance to other cases and could be heard by the Supreme Court," he said. (Stefan Wermuth / Reuters / December 5, 2011)
By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times (henry.chu@latimes.com)
December 6, 2011: Reporting from London— Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, is free to ask Britain's highest court to decide whether he should be extradited to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault, judges ruled Monday.
Recently, Julian Assange has been recognized in Australia for its "outstanding contribution to journalism", with founder Julian Assange lashing out at "cowardly" Prime Minister Julia Gillard in an acceptance speech.
The global community recognized the independent journalism and heroic contribution of the Wikileaks that leaked thousands of confidential information involving the politics and US cables.
In the Philippines; Wikileaks leaked tons of information from the US cables related to the Philippines political issues and including the information that lauded by the locals regarding the tons of gold and oil and gas deposits in Agusan Marsh Mindanao which is estimated to a $Trillion US dollars.
Wikileaks leaked also the confidential comment of former US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney describing the Philippines President Benigno Aquino III as unassertive.
The 40-year-old Australian has been battling extradition to Stockholm, the Swedish capital, since a judge ruled in February that he should be sent there to face accusations of raping and molesting two women.
Assange and his lawyers have 14 days to file a request for review by the Supreme Court. If it refuses to hear the matter, Assange would be extradited within days of the decision. If it accepts, the case would probably come before the court sometime next spring, the BBC reported.
Assange denies any misconduct and insists his relations with the women in separate encounters in August 2010 were consensual. He contends that the allegations against him are politically motivated, a pretext to ship him onward for prosecution in the U.S., where the Obama administration has roundly condemned him for leaking thousands of diplomatic documents on his website.
He surrendered to police in London last December after Sweden issued a warrant for his arrest. He has spent almost the entire time since then under "mansion arrest," living on a supporter's sprawling country estate outside London but forced to wear an electronic tag, abide by a curfew and check in with police daily.
Last month, judges on Britain's High Court upheld the earlier ruling approving Assange's extradition. On Monday, they said he would not be allowed to pursue his case any further through the normal appeals process but could apply directly to the Supreme Court for a hearing, on the basis that general principles worthy of the court's scrutiny were at stake.
Those principles deal with which bodies in foreign countries ought to be allowed to request extradition of suspects from Britain.
"Today the High Court has decided that an issue that arises from my own case is of general public importance and may be of assistance to other cases and could be heard by the Supreme Court," Assange told reporters. "I think that is a correct decision and I am thankful. The long struggle for justice for me and others continues."
