Julian Assange ‘Arbitrarily Detained’ by Sweden and UK, UN Panel Says

The fifth disagreed with the position of the majority and said Assange’s situation is not one of detention and therefore falls outside the mandate of the Working Group.

Taylor said Assange is in danger of “cruel and inhumane treatment” and “torture” citing a 2012 report that said Chelsea Manning – who leaked secret documents to Assange and WikiLeaks – had been subjected to similar treatment while being interrogated about her links to WikiLeaks.

Assange has always denied all allegations against him.

The arrest warrant would not go away, however, and Assange surrendered to police in London and was detained until his bail was granted.

“This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention”, the Foreign Office said in a statement. Authorities don’t have to listen to him or the U.N. Any judgment by the U.N. working group would be only a “moral recommendation”, not legally binding.

Assange is now wanted in Sweden on rape allegations.

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concedes it is up to member states to act on its decisions, explaining it can only investigate and “recommend remedies such as release from detention and compensation”.

In August of 2012, he was granted asylum at Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he has remained to avoid being arrested. “And Britain will still arrest Assange if he walks out of the embassy because it has a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden”. British and Swedish officials said Friday they won’t be swayed by the working group’s opinion, and it is five more years before the statute of limitations on rape expires.

Recent high-profile cases submitted to the United Nations panel include that of jailed former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed and of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American jailed in Iran until a prisoner swap last month. Ecuador must engage with Sweden in good faith to bring it to an end.

Speaking to a handful of supporters and a media scrum in a rare appearance from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy where he took refuge almost four years ago, Assange hailed the findings a “victory of historical importance”.

When prosecutors decided they needed to question him about the women’s allegations, they sought an global arrest warrant for him that was issued in November, 2010.

Garzon, who is part of Assange’s legal team, says that as members of the United Nations the two countries must respect the findings of the United Nations.

He said: “It is the end of the road for legal arguments by the United Kingdom and Sweden”.

It is calculated that Britain has spent more than $10 million on security measures to maintain guards outside the Ecuadorian embassy.

“He is hiding from justice in the Ecuadorian embassy”, British foreign minister Philip Hammond said.

The Australian representative on the panel recused herself because Assange is an Australian citizen.

Sweden’s prosecution authority noted Thursday that the statement from the working group has no formal impact on the ongoing investigation, according to Swedish law.

“I’m tough, I’m hardened by this process and I can take it. However, what right does this government or the U.S. government or the Swedish government have to deny my children their father for five and a half years without any charges in any country?”