Final appeal

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange filed a last-ditch appeal in British court Tuesday protesting his extradition to Sweden to face questioning on alleged sex crimes, drawing out a legal process that has already lasted more than a year.

Britain's Judicial Office said Assange had filed an application to bring his case to the Supreme Court. Two weeks prior, judges in the High Court rejected the 40-year-old Australian national's previous challenge to his extradition.

Swedish authorities want to question Assange on allegations that he violated country's laws on sexual consent during a trip to Stockholm in August 2010. He has not been formally charged with any crime.

One woman accuses him of sexual molestation by ignoring her request to use a condom during sex. A second woman says he had sex with her while she was asleep - an act that falls into the least severe of three rape categories in Swedish law.

Assange says the sex was consesual and that the allegations are politically motivated, relating to his activities with the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks. The organization has published hundreds of thousands of classified documents, most notably from the United States military and State Department.

A hearing for Assange's latest appeal is set for December 5. His lawyer's must convince High Court judges that his case raises a question of general public importance, meriting a hearing before the Supreme Court.

A decision could be issued the same day, and a denial of his case would trigger his extradition within 10 days.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Mark Hallam