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Julian Assange

A United Nations panel has reportedly ruled in favour of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying he has been “arbitrarily detained” in London.

The UN working group, which has been considering a request by Assange for a ruling, is due to publicise the findings of its investigation into his appeal today.

The British broadcaster the BBC, however, said yesterday the panel had ruled that Assange, currently holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London, was “arbitrarily detained.”

UK police said Assange will still be arrested if he leaves the building where he took refuge in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape and sexual assault allegations.

Earlier yesterday, Assange posted a statement on the WikiLeaks Twitter account, saying he will hand himself over to the British police if the United Nations rules against him.

“Should the UN announce tomorrow that I’ve lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, I shall exit the [Ecuadoran] embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal.

“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me,” he added.

Assange filed a complaint in 2014 with the UN, saying he was being “arbitrarily detained” as he could not leave the embassy.

In the appeal, he said the confinement has deprived him of access to fresh air or sunlight and adequate medical care. He said he is subject to round-the-clock surveillance and remains in a constant state of insecurity.

The panel has taken evidence from the UK and Sweden. Its ruling, however, will not have any formal influence with the British and Swedish authorities.

The Swedes issued an arrest warrant in 2010, when Assange was in London. Swedish prosecutors have dropped two sex assault claims against him last year, but he still faces more allegations of rape.

The UK Foreign Office also said it still had an obligation to extradite Assange.

Asssange believes Sweden will extradite him to the US, where he could be put on trial over the publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents on the whistle-blower website,WikiLeaks.

Meanwhile, An Egyptian appeals court has overturned death sentences issued to 149 people charged with lynching 11 police officers in August 2013, according to a report in the state-owned Al Ahram newspaper.

The court also ordered a retrial for the defendants over the attack, which occurred following the army’s removal of Mohamed Morsi as president.

The attack left 13 officers dead near Cairo on August 14, 2013, the day police shot and killed hundreds of demonstrators in the capital.

However, 34 others in the same case who were not in custody, could not legally be granted a retrial as they were sentenced to death in absentia.— AFP.