Epress.am News from Armenia
Two British courts had previously ruled that Assange should be sent to Sweden, where the authorities want him to answer accusations of allegedly raping one woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in August last year.
High Court judges today denied permission for a further appeal. However, they said the 40-year-old Australian could ask the Supreme Court to rule directly on whether the Swedish authorities had the authority to issue European arrest warrants, as it is a matter of “public importance,” The Telegraph reports.
Assange must now petition the Supreme Court for another hearing within 14 days.
The Wikileaks founder strongly denies any wrongdoing and claims the sex was consensual. He says the case against him is politically motivated, as he runs the controversial Wikileaks website that has revealed secret information about governments around the world.
The campaigner behind the anti-secrecy organization has spent almost a year on bail in Britain fighting extradition.
Assange was cheered as he left the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
He said the issue of extradition safeguards concerned many people.
There are “many aggrieved families in the UK and other countries and in Europe struggling for justice.”
Assange said: “This afternoon the Parliament of the UK is considering in depth the matters that arise from various extradition cases in the UK, including my own.
“Today the High Court has decided that an issue arises from my own case that is of general public importance and may be of assistance to other cases and should be heard by the Supreme Court.
“I think that is the correct decision, and I am thankful. The long struggle for justice for me and others continues.”