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UN panel says Assange in ‘illegal detention’: Sweden

– ‘Black stain’ –

Ecuador has granted him asylum, but he has faced immediate arrest if he steps onto British soil and for years police have been posted around the clock outside its doors at a cost of millions of pounds.

In October last year, British police ended the 24-hour guard outside the embassy in west London but said they would strengthen a “covert plan” to prevent his departure.

Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006, and its activities – including the release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables – have infuriated the United States.

The main source of the leaks, US Army soldier Chelsea Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for breaches of the Espionage Act.

WikiLeaks has said Sweden’s handling of its founder’s case has left a “black stain” on the country’s human rights record.

In its submission to the UN panel it said “the only protection he has… is to stay in the confines of the embassy; the only way for Mr Assange to enjoy his right to asylum is to be in detention.

“This is not a legally acceptable choice,” it added, according to a file posted on the website justice4assange.com.

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