Julian Assange, 40, the founder of WikiLeaks, lost his extradition appeal in London’s High Court on Wednesday.
The ruling by the High Court could send Assange back to Sweden to face questioning and trial over the rape of one woman and the molestation of another. Assange’s lawyers have indicated that they intend to appeal to Britian’s Supreme Court. An appeal will be allowed only if the appeals court’s ruling involved an issue of “real legal significance.” If not, Assange could be extradited within 10 days.
Assange has continually denied the allegations. He has said the the sexual encounters were consensual and has insisted that the false sexual charges have been politically motivated by one of the many enemies of WikiLeaks, his secret spilling organization. WikiLeaks published over 250,000 of the United States’ secret diplomatic cables last year.
