AP, London :
British police have said they still plan to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he leaves the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
Police said Thursday that earlier announced plans to take Assange into custody on an outstanding arrest warrant were still in place.
That announcement was made in October when police removed the round-the-clock guard at the embassy, but said overt and covert means would still be used against Assange.
He is wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning on allegations of sexual misconduct.
A U.N. panel is to rule Friday on whether the treatment of Assange has been fair.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he could turn himself over to British police on Friday, more than three years after seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Assange said he would finally hand himself in if his appeal to a UN panel falls through. If the appeal is successful, he said he would expect to be able to leave the embassy a free man.
“Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal,” he said in a statement Thursday.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.”
The non-binding decision will come from the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The 44-year-old has been holed up in the embassy in west London since June 2012 in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations, charges he has denied.
British police have said they still plan to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he leaves the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
Police said Thursday that earlier announced plans to take Assange into custody on an outstanding arrest warrant were still in place.
That announcement was made in October when police removed the round-the-clock guard at the embassy, but said overt and covert means would still be used against Assange.
He is wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning on allegations of sexual misconduct.
A U.N. panel is to rule Friday on whether the treatment of Assange has been fair.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he could turn himself over to British police on Friday, more than three years after seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Assange said he would finally hand himself in if his appeal to a UN panel falls through. If the appeal is successful, he said he would expect to be able to leave the embassy a free man.
“Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal,” he said in a statement Thursday.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.”
The non-binding decision will come from the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The 44-year-old has been holed up in the embassy in west London since June 2012 in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations, charges he has denied.
