Julian Assange enters final stage of extradition battle [View all]

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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is to enter the final stage of his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sex crime allegations.

After failing to persuade a magistrates and the court of appeal that the cross border warrant issued for his arrest was invalid, the Australian's legal team will appeal to the supreme court in London to prevent his deportation.

Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden over claims of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion made by two women he met on a visit to Stockholm in August 2010. He denies the claims.

The supreme court's two-day hearing is unlikely to focus on the detail of the allegations against him, but the legal issue of whether the Swedish prosecutor who issued the European arrest warrant in December 2010 can be considered a valid judicial authority. Assange's legal team, which will include Dinah Rose QC, an expert in civil liberties and European Union law, argues that it isn't.

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/feb/01/julian-assange-extradition-battle