Assange lawyers appeal extradition

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have lodged an appeal against a British court ruling that he should be extradited to Sweden over rape accusations, the court said March 3.

A court official confirmed that it had received the request for an appeal, but no date has yet been set for a hearing, AFP reports.

Assange said after last week's ruling that he was prepared for a lengthy legal battle after judge Howard Riddle rejected defence arguments that the 39-year-old would face an unfair trial that would breach his human rights.

The founder of the whistleblowing website claimed that the decision to extradite him was a "result of the European Arrest Warrant system run amok".

He also complained that the hearings to consider Sweden's extradition requests had failed to consider "the merits of the allegations against me".

The latest twist in Assange's fight against extradition comes after US authorities lodged 22 additional charges against Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of passing a host of confidential documents to WikiLeaks.

The new accusations include the accusation of "aiding the enemy," which carries a potential death sentence.