Assange appeal request rejected by UK court

Britain's highest court has rejected an application by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to reopen his appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes, ending his last legal recourse in the UK courts.

In a statement, the Supreme Court said on Thursday that all seven judges had agreed that the application made on behalf of the self-styled anti-secrecy campaigner was without merit.  

Two weeks ago the court rejected his argument that a European arrest warrant for extradition was invalid.

His lawyers had argued that the decision was based on a legal point that had not been argued in court.

Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange over allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two female former Wikileaks volunteers in mid-2010 but have not filed any charges.

Assange, whose WikiLeaks website has published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments and international businesses, claims the sex was consensual and that the allegations against him were politically motivated.

The court has given Assange a two-week grace period before extradition proceedings can start.

Once the fortnight is over, officials have 10 days to fly Assange to Sweden.

The anti-secrecy campaigner could still take his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg and has until 28 June to make the move.

Fair Trials International chief executive Jago Russell said: "Today's decision takes Julian Assange one step closer to being extradited to Sweden.

"Although Sweden is rightly proud of its justice system, its over-use of pre-trial detention means that, if extradited, he is likely to be imprisoned and placed under extremely restrictive conditions."

He has been fighting a legal battle against extradition since his arrest in Britain in December 2010.

The former computer hacker gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing secret video footage and thousands of US diplomatic cables, many of them about Iraq and Afghanistan, in the largest leak of classified documents in US history. 

While a hero to many anti-censorship campaigners, Washington was furious about Assange's release of the documents.