UN panel says WikiLeaks founder should be compensated for 'deprivation of liberty'
A United Nations human rights panel says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been “arbitrarily detained” and is entitled to compensation.
The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made its recommendation on Friday, report the Associated Press and the Washington Post.
Assange, who is wanted for questioning for in connection with rape allegations, has been living in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for more than three years. He has refused to return to Sweden, where some fear he could be extradited to the United States for possible prosecution over leaked military documents.
The panel majority said Assange has been subjected to “various forms of deprivation of liberty.” Swedish prosecutors should have sought to question Assange using bilateral agreements with Britain, the panel said, rather than by issuing an arrest warrant.
A dissenter said the panel should not have taken the case because Assange hasn’t been detained.
Swedish and British officials say the panel’s ruling has no legal force. Swedish prosecutors say the ruling “has no formal impact on the ongoing investigation,” while British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says the decision is “frankly ridiculous.”
Assange said the ruling was a significant victory. He has denied the rape allegations.
