Sweden issues new warrant for Assange

Swedish authorities have issued a fresh arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange following a procedural error with the first, BBC reports. Swedish police said the UK needed the maximum penalties for the crimes to be stipulated on the order. Sweden issues new warrant for Assange Prior to this, the Swedish Supreme Court denied an appeal and upheld the original arrest warrant, saying it granted such appeals "only in exceptional cases that call for the court's review". Julian Assange is currently "lying low in south-east England", London daily The Independent reported earlier today. Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden in connection to sexual crime allegations, which he has denied. He has not been charged. The British paper also reported that "Scotland Yard was waiting for instructions to arrest him". According to this, police are in contact with Assange's legal team, know his whereabouts and have his telephone number. Interpol has in the meantime issued a red notice for his arrest in member countries. Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca) received the red notice late on December 1 and is awaiting "technical clarifications" before sanctioning Assange's arrest, said the report. Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens described the situation for The Guardian newspaper as "persecution and a prosecution". "It is highly irregular and unusual for the Swedish authorities to issue a red notice in the teeth of the undisputed fact that Mr. Assange has agreed to meet voluntarily to answer the prosecutor's questions," said Stephens. He also said that the WikiLeaks founder "repeatedly sought meetings with the prosecutrix both in Sweden and subsequently in order to answer her questions and clear his name," and that he also sought permission to leave Sweden, which was granted to him. The whistleblowing website has recently started publishing more than a quarter of a million of U.S. diplomatic cables, after it rose to prominence for its revelations on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The website itself has repeatedly been coming under massive DDoS attacks. On Wednesday, Amazon.com stopped providing its hosting services to WikiLeaks. U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, who previously called on Amazon to do so, praised to move, and urged other companies to sever their ties with the organization. (Beta)

Sweden issues new warrant for Assange

Prior to this, the Swedish Supreme Court denied an appeal and upheld the original arrest warrant, saying it granted such appeals "only in exceptional cases that call for the court's review".

Julian Assange is currently "lying low in south-east England", London daily The Independent reported earlier today.

Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden in connection to sexual crime allegations, which he has denied. He has not been charged.

The British paper also reported that "Scotland Yard was waiting for instructions to arrest him".

According to this, police are in contact with Assange's legal team, know his whereabouts and have his telephone number.

Interpol has in the meantime issued a red notice for his arrest in member countries.

Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca) received the red notice late on December 1 and is awaiting "technical clarifications" before sanctioning Assange's arrest, said the report.

Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens described the situation for The Guardian newspaper as "persecution and a prosecution".

"It is highly irregular and unusual for the Swedish authorities to issue a red notice in the teeth of the undisputed fact that Mr. Assange has agreed to meet voluntarily to answer the prosecutor's questions," said Stephens.

He also said that the WikiLeaks founder "repeatedly sought meetings with the prosecutrix both in Sweden and subsequently in order to answer her questions and clear his name," and that he also sought permission to leave Sweden, which was granted to him.

The whistleblowing website has recently started publishing more than a quarter of a million of U.S. diplomatic cables, after it rose to prominence for its revelations on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The website itself has repeatedly been coming under massive DDoS attacks. On Wednesday, Amazon.com stopped providing its hosting services to WikiLeaks.

U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, who previously called on Amazon to do so, praised to move, and urged other companies to sever their ties with the organization.