Date:   12/16/2010 4:21:53 PM ( 14 y ago)
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/17/3095463.htm



Assange freed on bail

By Europe correspondent Emma Alberici, staff

Updated 2 hours 2 minutes ago
Julian Assange released on bail



WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pledged to clear his name of allegations of sexua| assault and pursue his work with the whistleblowing website after he was freed on bail by a London court.

Standing on the steps of the High Court after beating a Swedish move to have him kept in custody, Mr Assange protested his innocence.

"I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get - which we have not yet - the evidence from these allegations," Mr Assange said.

After spending nine nights in solitary confinement at Wandsworth prison, Mr Assange expressed his relief to be free.

"It's great to smell the fresh air of London again," he said.

"During my time in solitary confinement, I had time to reflect on the conditions of those people around the world also in solitary confinement in conditions that are more difficult than those faced by me.

"I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence from these allegations."

Mr Assange and his lawyers insist moves to extradite him from Britain to Sweden to face questioning over allegations he sexually assaulted two women are politically motivated.

Amid a hail of camera flashes, Mr Assange thanked "all the people around the world who have had faith in me, who have supported my team while I have been away."

The 39-year-old Australian said by granting him bail and releasing him after nine days in London's Wandsworth prison, the British justice system had proved "if justice is not always the outcome at least it is not dead yet".

His release had been delayed by several hours, apparently by haggling over the availability of the 200,000 pound ($316,000) surety which has been put up by supporters.

A senior judge had earlier rejected an appeal by lawyers working on behalf of Sweden to keep him in jail pending extradition.

As a condition of his release, Mr Assange will have to reside at Ellingham Hall, a mansion on the 600-acre country estate of Vaughan Smith, an ex-British army officer who founded the Frontline Club, the media club in London that is the British base of WikiLeaks' operations.

He must stay there between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am and between the hours of 10:00am and 2:00pm.

The judge ordered Mr Assange to report regularly to police and be confined to a certain room in the mansion during his curfew hours for fear that his electronic monitoring tag might not work elsewhere on the sprawling estate.

Mr Assange's mother, Christine, and supporters including campaigning journalist John Pilger, had earlier packed into the courtroom for the hour-and-a-half hearing along with hordes of journalists.

"I'm very, very happy with the decision. I can't wait to see my son and to hold him close," Christine Assange said.

Mr Assange was in court to hear the senior judge reject an appeal against an earlier ruling by a lower court that he be bailed.

The appeal was lodged by British lawyers on behalf of Swedish prosecutors.

Judge Duncan Ouseley rejected the prosecution's argument that Mr Assange was a flight risk, saying: "The court does not approach this case on the basis that this is a fugitive from justice who seeks to avoid interrogation and prosecution."

In arguing the accusations are unfounded, Mr Assange's supporters cite the timing of his arrest, which coincided with the release by WikiLeaks of thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables.

Hailing the judge's decision, Pilger said it was "good news but it's overdue" and suggested the wider issue was whether the United States would also eventually seek Mr Assange's extradition.

"I think we should be looking in the long distance to the threat not just of extradition to Sweden but also of extradition to the US. That is the great unspoken issue in this court," Pilger told journalists.

Mr Assange's extradition hearing will now start on February 7.

Meanwhile WikiLeaks released new cables on Thursday, with Thailand's revered royal family again at the centre of the revelations.

A memo from the US embassy in Bangkok showed top palace officials expressed concern about the prospect of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn becoming king.

Another leaked cable revealed an oil platform in Azerbaijan operated by BP suffered a blowout and a huge gas leak around 18 months before the Gulf of Mexico spill.
 

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