A British judge today said he needed time to consider whether WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sex crimes and adjourned his extradition hearing to February 24th.
Mr Assange, a 39-year-old computer expert who has infuriated the US government by releasing thousands of secret diplomatic cables on his website, is wanted in Sweden to answer questions about allegations of sexual misconduct made by two WikiLeaks volunteers.
Judge Howard Riddle was speaking after a three-day hearing at Belmarsh magistrates' court in southeast London.
One of Mr Assange's Swedish accusers, "Miss A", alleges he "sexually molested her" by ignoring her request for him to use a condom when having sex with her. A second, "Miss W", says he had sex with her without condom while she was asleep.
Prosecutors say that amounts to the least severe of three categories of rape in Sweden, carrying a maximum of four years in jail.
Mr Assange has been free under strict conditions since a British court released him on bail in December. The US government is examining whether criminal charges can be brought against him over the diplomatic cables.
Grounds for refusing an extradition request are mainly limited to whether it would violate a suspect's human rights or whether the arrest warrant was drawn up correctly.
Reuters