(From Reuters)
A United Nations panel has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been “arbitrarily detained”, BBC says.
WikiLeaks said it is “waiting for official confirmation” after a BBC report.
No comment was immediately available from the United Nations in Geneva, where the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has been considering a request by Assange for a ruling.
“The [UN] working group will meet on Friday and release an official opinion on the case” said Xabier Celaya, press officer of UN High Commission for human rights. “At the moment, we can’t confirm this [BBC report].”
Celaya said he can only confirm that the report did not come from the UN. “We can only comment on the official document.”
Assange had taken refuge in London’s Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden over a rape case which he denies.
Earlier, Assange tweeted he would leave the embassy and accept arrest on Friday if a UN panel investigating his case ruled against him.
“Should the U.N. 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,” Assange said in a statement posted on the Wikileaks Twitter account.
“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,” he said.
British police had said they would arrest Assange if he leaves the embassy.