WikiLeaks Founder Loses Extradition Appeal

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange clocked up six months on bail Thursday, with the whistleblowing website slamming his "unfair" restrictions as he fights extradition from Britain.The 39-year-old is living at a friend's mansion in eastern England, must wear an electronic ankle tag and observe a curfew as he appeals against his extradition to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations.In a statement released to some media including The Daily Telegraph newspaper, WikiLeaks bemoaned Assange's position.

A news website says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange regards his bid to become an Australian senator as a defense against potential criminal prosecution in the United States and Britain. Assange spoke to The Conversation website at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he was granted asylum in June to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex crime allegations. If he wins a Senate seat at elections on Sept. 24, Assange told the website in an article published on Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice would drop its espionage investigation rather than risk a diplomatic row.

A Swedish prosecutor said Thursday she had requested the arrest of Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks, to face charges of rape and sexual molestation."I request the District Court of Stockholm to detain Mr. Assange in his absence, suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion," Swedish director of prosecutions Marianne Ny said in a statement in English."The reason for my request is that we need to interrogate him. So far, we have not been able to meet with him to accomplish the interrogations."

A lawyer for Julian Assange argued Friday that Sweden's prime minister had ruined the WikiLeaks founder's chances of a fair trial over rape claims as he attempted to stall his extradition from Britain.In closing arguments in Assange's extradition case, lawyer Geoffrey Robertson attacked Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's comments which indicated that the whistleblowing website's chief had taken women's rights "lightly".Robertson told Belmarsh Magistrates' Court that Assange was "enemy number one as a result of the prime minister's statement".

Spanish online supporters of Julian Assange called for worldwide demonstrations Saturday to press for the release of the WikiLeaks founder, who is in a London jail awaiting possible extradition to Sweden to face rape charges.The Spanish website Free Wikileaks urged rallies at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) in eight Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, while similar demonstrations were planned in Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Bogota and Lima.