UN panel rules in favor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, says he is ‘arbitrarily detained’ (Report)

A United Nations panel has ruled in favor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden. The panel agreed with Assange, who claimed he was being “arbitrarily detained.”

The decision by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was first reported by the BBC. However, the decision will not be officially announced until Feb. 5, the UN said.

The Associated Press reports that Sweden’s foreign ministry also confirmed the decision.

In 2014, Assange told the UN that he could not leave the embassy without being arrested and is being “deprived of his liberty in an arbitrary manner for an unacceptable length of time.” As NPR notes, though, the British government said that Assange decided himself to live in the Ecuadorean embassy.

Assange is wanted in Sweden on sexual assault charges, which he has denied. Still, he released a statement through WikiLeaks on Feb. 3 that, if the UN did rule against him, he would leave the embassy and accept arrest.

Assange could also be extradited to the U.S. and face charges linked to the release of thousands of classified government documents, including military activity in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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