We are disappointed by the statement from Ecuador’s Foreign Minister that Ecuador has offered political asylum to Julian Assange. Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We shall carry out that obligation. The Ecuadorian Government’s decision this afternoon does not change that. We remain committed to a negotiated solution that allows us to carry out our obligations under the Extradition Act.

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Judge Howard Riddle ruled today that the European Arrest Warrant issued by a Swedish prosecutor was valid, and that Assange should return to Sweden to face questioning.

Index will be following the developments of the case closely. There have been allegations that the extradition of Julian Assange to Sweden is politically motivated and it is vital that the Swedish investigation is conducted fairly and follows due process.

Read full judgment here

Sweden v Assange Judgment

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Before he is freed Assange must pay a £200,000 security into the court, he will be electronically tagged and subject to a curfew from 10am-2pm and 10pm-2am.

Justice for Assange campaign protester outside the court hearing. Photograph: Nadia CosentinoIn court his barrister Geoffrey Robertson offered £240,000 in financial sureties from high-profile figures and the surrender of Assange's passport.

Last week a London court refused to grant bail to Assange, in spite of pledges of financial surety from high-profile figures including socialite Jemima Khan, journalist John Pilger and film-maker Ken Loach.  District Judge Howard Riddle said he felt there was a substantial risk that Assange would flee the country.

Assange’s bail will be reviewed on 11 January, the extradition proceedings will be heard in February.

Assange will not be freed before the appeal is heard and the cash security is paid into the court, he will continue to be held at Wandsworth prison.

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A London court today refused to grant bail to Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange. Assange is facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges including one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape.

In spite of pledges of financial surety from high-profile figures including socialite Jemima Khan, journalist John Pilger and film-maker Ken Loach, District Judge Howard Riddle said he felt there was a substantial risk that Assange would flee the country. Assange will be remanded in custody until 14 December when extradition proceedings continue.

The judge stressed that the case should be judged on its merits and not conflated with Assange’s work for Wikileaks. He also noted that while there had not been a large amount of evidence presented to the court concerning the allegations, this was not unusual at this stage in extradition proceedings.

Speaking on the steps of the court, Assange’s legal representative Mark Stephens said that a renewed plea for bail would be made. He stressed he believed that Assange could safely have been released into custody, and that he was certain that many more people would offer sureties for Assange.

Earlier, Gemma Lindfield, representing the Swedish Judicial Authority, had said that while Assange had presented himself to police for arrest, the circumstances surrounding Wikileaks “Cablegate” scandal outweighed this fact. She also claimed that if Assange were released on bail, he could be subject to attack by “unstable persons”. John Jones, representing Assange, said it was equally likely that Assange would be assaulted while on remand.

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A Swedish prosecutor today requested that Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks whistleblower website, be detained for interrogation concerning a re-opened sexual assault investigation. The application could lead to an international arrest warrant.

Assange denies accusations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion, which surfaced shortly after the website released the Afghanistan War Logs, containing thousands of leaked US military incident reports.

Index on Censorship trustee Mark Stephens, who is Assange’s lawyer, commented: “The behaviour of the investigators has been bizarre. I’ve never seen anything like it in 30 years of legal practice. We haven’t been able to answer the specifics of the smear because the investigators won’t detail the allegations and they haven’t responded to Mr Assange’s voluntary offers of interview.”

Index on Censorship chief executive John Kampfner said: “While we cannot comment on the specifics of the case, we are extremely concerned at the apparent conduct of the investigators. Anyone concerned about free speech and human rights will be alarmed at any suggestion that the allegations against Mr Assange are being manipulated for political purposes.”

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