High court rules Assange can be extradited

LONDON, May 30 (UPI) -- Britain's highest court Wednesday rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to prevent extradition to Sweden.

On a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court rejected Assange's claim that the European Arrest Warrant issued for him was invalid because it was made by prosecutors, not than a judge, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday

The Supreme Court said "judicial authority" could mean a prosecutor besides a judge.

Assange has been battling against extradition to Sweden for questioning concerning rape and sexual assault allegations made by two former volunteers. He has denied the allegations.

The Telegraph reported Assange missed the hearing, with an attorney and a supporter both saying he was stuck in traffic.

Lawyers for Assange, whose whistle-blowing Web site posted thousands of American diplomatic cables and sensitive military files, filed an urgent request to the court, asking for permission to challenge one of the points, The Guardian reported. They have 14 days to present arguments that issues related to an article of the Vienna convention wasn't raised during the hearing.

"The majority of the judges believe that parliament was seriously misled when it approved the European arrest warrant system," Gareth Peirce, one of Assange's attorneys, said. "Parliament thought a 'judicial authority' meant a judge or court but the majority of Supreme court judges based their decision on what is the practice in Europe and decided it on the basis of the Vienna convention which was never argued before the court."

The Supreme Court said the extradition couldn't occur until at least June 13.

Assange also could try to get a hearing before the European Court of Human Rights to avoid extradition. The court, seated in Strasbourg, France, would have to decide whether to hear his claim within weeks, the Telegraph said.

Assange, 40, remains on bail at a supporter's mansion in Norfolk, where he has lived since his arrest in December 2010. He wears an electronic monitoring device and reports to police daily.

WikiLeaks supporters demonstrated outside the courtroom in London before the hearing.

Two former WikiLeaks volunteers allege "four offenses of unlawful coercion and sexual misconduct, including rape" in August 2010 in and around Stockholm, court documents state. The women later said what began as consensual encounters turned non-consensual.