No Deal

Julian Assange Loses Bid to Have U.K. Arrest Warrant Dropped

The WikiLeaks founder still faces detention if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy.

A British judge has ruled that an arrest warrant for Julian Assange should be upheld, meaning the WikiLeaks founder will continue to risk being detained if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange has now spent more than five years in the diplomatic residency in an attempt to avoid arrest, and has yet again failed in a bid to ensure his freedom if he was to leave the building. Although Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into sexual-assault allegations against Assange last year, a British arrest warrant for violating bail conditions is still outstanding. Assange’s lawyer argued that his years inside the embassy were “adequate, if not severe” punishment for his actions but the judge dismissed the appeal, saying of the WikiLeaks founder: “He appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favor.”