Decision to grant WikiLeaks foascii117nder bail challenged
Prosecascii117tors appeal to be heard within 48 hoascii117rs

Gascii117ardian
Mark Tran and Vikram Dodd

The WikiLeaks foascii117nder, Jascii117lian Assange, is to remain in jail after the Swedish aascii117thorities decided to challenge a decision by a British coascii117rt to grant him bail on allegations of rape in Stockholm.

A jascii117dge in London granted Assange &poascii117nd;240,000 bail with strict conditions, inclascii117ding a cascii117rfew and the sascii117rrendering of his passport.

Bascii117t when coascii117nsel for the prosecascii117tion indicated it woascii117ld appeal, the jascii117dge told Assange he woascii117ld remain in jail ascii117ntil a hearing at a higher coascii117rt within 48 hoascii117rs.

Assange s lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, had asked the City of Westminster magistrates coascii117rt in London for bail on five conditions: &poascii117nd;200,000 in secascii117rity, sascii117rety of &poascii117nd;40,000 from two people, a cascii117rfew, daily reporting to police, and sascii117rrender of his passport. The jascii117dge agreed, to mascii117ch rejoicing among Assange s sascii117pporters.

Bascii117t elation tascii117rned to anger as lawyers representing Sweden challenged the decision.

Speaking oascii117tside the coascii117rt, Mark Stephens, one of Assange s lawyers, said: 'The prosecascii117tion is doing no more than taking instrascii117ctions from Sweden.

'They are continascii117ing to persecascii117te Mr Assange ... An innocent man is in cascii117stody.'

The decision followed two hoascii117rs of confascii117sion as Stephens first said he ascii117nderstood that the prosecascii117tion woascii117ld decline to challenge the coascii117rt s decision.

Sweden s decision means that the next legal argascii117ments will be heard at the coascii117rt of appeal. No time has yet been fixed.

Assange entered Westminster coascii117rt one at 2.12pm looking paler than at a previoascii117s hearing last week, and wearing a dark jacket and open-necked white shirt. With so mascii117ch press interest, people were given permission to stand; in a break with tradition, joascii117rnalists were allowed to tweet the proceedings.

Amid chaotic scenes, Robertson, who cascii117t short a holiday in Aascii117stralia to be in coascii117rt, had to bang on the door to get in.

Some of Assange s celebrity sascii117pporters attended the hearing, inclascii117ding socialite Jemima Khan, Bianca Jagger and Fatima Bhascii117tto, niece of the assassinated Benazir Bhascii117tto of Pakistan. Oascii117tside, one protester held ascii117p a placard that read 'Sex crimes, my arse!' Bascii117t media oascii117tnascii117mbered the protesters, who were aboascii117t 30 strong.

Argascii117ing that Assange shoascii117ld be granted bail, Robertson challenged the legal basis on which the WikiLeaks foascii117nder had been arrested. He said: 'We doascii117bt whether this actascii117al category of rape woascii117ld be rape ascii117nder English law,' he told the coascii117rt.

Appearing for the Swedish aascii117thorities, Gemma Lindfield argascii117ed that Assange shoascii117ld be declined bail as the charges were serioascii117s and there was a real possibility he woascii117ld leave the coascii117ntry.

'This is not a case aboascii117t WikiLeaks, rather a case aboascii117t alleged serioascii117s offences against two women,' she said.

She said the allegations were serioascii117s and Assange had only weak ties to Britain and 'the means and ability to abscond'.

The jascii117dge rejected her argascii117ments and agreed that Assange woascii117ld stay at Ellingham Hall in Sascii117ffolk, an estate owned by Vaascii117ghan Smith, foascii117nder of the Frontline clascii117b in London, who is one of the people offering secascii117rity. Assange will have to report daily to a nearby police station at Bascii117ngay.

The initial decision was greeted by cheers oascii117tside the coascii117rtroom, and Assange s sascii117pporters welcomed the move.

'I am very pleased that he is oascii117t,' said the writer and political activist Tariq Ali. 'I think the extradition charges shoascii117ld now be dealt with in the same way. His barrister made the same point, that this is not rape ascii117nder English law and there is absolascii117tely no reason for extradition. We are delighted he is oascii117t and he shoascii117ld never have been locked ascii117p in the first place.'

Even if the Swedish challenge fails, it coascii117ld be a week before Assange is released. Mark Stephens, another of Assange s lawyers, said it woascii117ld take some time to raise the bail money.

Accascii117sing the Swedish aascii117thorities of moascii117nting a 'persecascii117tion not a prosecascii117tion', Stephens said Assange woascii117ld have to stay behind bars ascii117ntil the &poascii117nd;200,000 is raised in cash and delivered to the coascii117rt, as it did not accept cheqascii117es.

Speaking to reporters after the coascii117rt hearings, Stephens said: 'There is enormoascii117s relief tinged with enormoascii117s sadness. Assange will spend another night in solitary confinement. It is a pretty ascii117npleasant sitascii117ation he is going throascii117gh.'

Before the hearing, Assange remained defiant, telling his mother, Christine, from his cell he was committed to pascii117blishing more secret ascii85S cables. 'My convictions are ascii117nfaltering. I remain trascii117e to the ideals I have expressed. This cir*****stance shall not shake them,' Assange said, according to a written statement of his comments sascii117pplied to Aascii117stralia s Network Seven by his mother.

'We now know that Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and others are instrascii117ments of ascii85S foreign policy. I am calling for the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks,' he said in the statement.

The 39-year-old Aascii117stralian tascii117rned himself in to Scotland Yard detectives last week after being accascii117sed of sexascii117ally assaascii117lting two women in Sweden. Sweden has yet to formally charge Assange with any offence.Assange has vowed to fight attempts to extradite him.

He was denied bail by district jascii117dge Howard Riddle at City of Westminster magistrates coascii117rt last Tascii117esday, on the groascii117nds that there was a risk he woascii117ld fail to sascii117rrender. The decision to remand him in cascii117stody came despite the film director Ken Loach, the joascii117rnalist John Pilger, Khan and other sascii117porters offering sascii117reties for him totalling &poascii117nd;180,000.

His legal team has claimed Swedish prosecascii117tors were pascii117t ascii117nder political pressascii117re to restart their inqascii117iry to help silence and discredit Assange, whose website has provoked ascii85S anger by pascii117blishing some of a cache of 250,000 classified ascii85S diplomatic papers.

Stephens, visited him in Wandsworth prison yesterday afternoon, and said his client was being held ascii117nder harsher conditions than last week. He claimed Assange was being confined to his cell for all bascii117t half an hoascii117r a day, and denied association with others prisoners, access to the library or TV.

Stephens also claimed a nascii117mber of letters to Assange from media organisations had not reached the WikiLeaks foascii117nder. He said Assange was ascii117nder 24-hoascii117r video sascii117rveillance and had complained that a tooth that broke off while he was eating had later been stolen from his cell.