Julian Assange loses appeal against extradition

Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley on Wednesday handed down their judgment in the 40-year-old Australians appeal against a European arrest warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors after rape and sexual assault accusations made by two Swedish women following his visit to Stockholm in August 2010.Assange, who was wearing a navy blue suit, pale blue tie and a Remembrance Day poppy, remains on bail pending a decision on a further appeal.The judges ruled the issuing of the warrant and subsequent proceedings were proportionate and dismissed arguments that the warrant had been invalid and descriptions of the alleged offences unfair and inaccurate.Assange gave no sign of emotion as the judges gave reasons for the decision.Assanges lawyers said they would take 14 days to decide whether to seek the right to appeal to the Supreme Court and said they would challenge the £19,000 costs against him, indicating he might not have the means to pay.After the hearing, Assange made a short statement on the steps of the court, saying: We will be considering our next step. He urged people to turn to a website set up in his support.No doubt there will be many attempts made to try to spin these proceedings as they occurred today but they were merely technical. So please go to swedenversusassange.com if you wish to know what is really going on in this case.Assange refused to answer shouted media questions as he left. The judges rejected the appeal on all four grounds made by his legal team, opening up the possibility that Assange could be removed to Sweden by the end of the month.Lord Justice Thomas said a date would be fixed in three weeks time to hear any case by Assange that he should be allowed to take the case to the Supreme Court.To appeal again, Assange must persuade the judges there is a wider issue of public importance at stake in the latest decision. If he is successful in persuading the high court of that, he is likely to remain on conditional bail until a hearing in front of the Supreme Court. This is unlikely to take place until next year.If he is denied the right to appeal then British law enforcement officers will be responsible for arranging his removal to Sweden within 10 days.