UK disputes UN working group opinion on Julian Assange

The UK Foreign Office on Friday refused a decision of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention.

"The UK will formally contest the opinion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office", a UK Government spokesperson said in an official statement.

"This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention. The UK has already made clear to the UN that we will formally contest the working group's opinion," the spokesperson added

"Julian Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the UK. The opinion of the UN Working Group ignores the facts and the well-recognized protections of the British legal system. He is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy. An allegation of rape is still outstanding and a European Arrest Warrant in place, so the UK continues to have a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden. As the UK is not a party to the Caracas Convention, we do not recognize diplomatic asylum," the statement read.

"We are deeply frustrated that this unacceptable situation is still being allowed to continue. Ecuador must engage with Sweden in good faith to bring it to an end. Americas Minister Hugo Swire made this clear to the Ecuadorean Ambassador in November, and we continue to raise the matter in Quito," it added.

Earlier, the UN legal panel said that Assange should be allowed to walk free and be compensated for his "deprivation of liberty."

Assange, 44, - who faces extradition to Sweden over a rape claim, which he denies - claimed asylum in London's Ecuadorean embassy in 2012.

He has been arbitrarily detained since his arrest in 2010, the panel said.

Source: MENA