Julian Assange 'confident' ahead of Sweden ruling

A court in Stockholm is expected to rule on Friday on an appeal by Assange’s lawyers against the arrest warrant hanging over him for allegations of rape and sexual molestation.

“We will win because the law is very clear. My only hope is that the court is following the law and is not pressured politically to do anything outside of the law,” Assange said via a video link screened at a human rights film festival in Barcelona.

Swedish prosecutors want to question the 43-year-old Australian, who could also face trial in the United States over WikiLeaks’ publishing a horde of sensitive military and diplomatic communications.

Assange has been holed up since 2012 in London in the embassy of Ecuador, which granted him political asylum the same year.

If the Swedish court scraps the European arrest warrant against Assange, it could mean that he would be able to leave the Ecuadoran embassy.

“As time goes by, political pressure decreases and understanding increases. So I am very confident I will not remain in this situation. I’m completely confident,” Assange said.

Assange fears the warrant against him is aimed at eventually extraditing him from Sweden to the United States. Swedish prosecutors said last month that idea was “far-fetched”- AFP