Judge says Assange still faces arrest if he leaves embassy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will continue to face the prospect of arrest and detention if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London following a British judge’s refusal to quash an arrest warrant against him.

In a ruling on Tuesday, senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot said: “It is certainly not against the public interest to proceed”. The ruling followed Assange’s legal team arguing that continuing to pursue him for allegedly violating bail conditions was not proportionate.

Assange was on bail when he entered the embassy in 2012. At the time, he was facing extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape, accusations he denies. Swedish prosecutors have since dropped their relevant investigation.