A court in London has upheld an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange which was issued when he breached bail conditions in 2012 by seeking political refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy. Mr Assange has been in the embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to the US where he fears he may be charged over the publication of classified documents on the Wikileaks website.

Normal rules of law

Extradition specialist Edward Grange, partner at criminal defence firm Corker Binning said of the decision: 'The Senior District Judge dismissed Assange’s application to have the arrest warrant withdrawn on public interest grounds, concluding that arrest is a proportionate response to his failure to surrender in June 2012. In dismissing Assange’s application, the Senior District Judge did not mince her words, stating that Assange considered himself above the ‘normal rules of law’ and that he ‘only wants justice if it goes in his favour’.' 

Further litigation

Mr Grange added: 'The Judge stated that Assange should have the courage to come to court to face the consequences of his actions.That request is likely to fall on deaf ears as Assange’s team will no doubt now consider further litigation in light of today’s damning dismissal of their application to bring this drawn out saga to an end.'