A British judge ruled on Thursday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning in a sex crimes case. Assange, who has denied any involvement, said he plans to appeal.
"It would be a reasonable assumption from the facts that Mr. Assange was deliberately avoiding interrogation before he left Sweden," Judge Howard Riddell wrote in his decision Thursday, adding that Assange's lawyer there, Bjorn Hurtig, made a "deliberate attempt to mislead the court."
The 39-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting one woman and raping another during a visit to Stockholm last year.
Outside the court, Assange, an Australian citizen, said that extraditing him to a country where he doesn’t speak the language to face charges "is a very grave matter."
Assange was released on bail, and must appeal the ruling within seven days.
