Court says Assange tried to avoid the Swedish authorities, orders extradition

Belmarsh magistrates court on Thursday ordered extradition of Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, to Sweden after noting that the 39-year-old Australian clearly tried to avoid the authorities in connection with the allegations of sexual assault slapped against him.

The chief magistrate Howard Riddle found Assange guilty of avoiding the Swedish justice system before he left the country.

It would be a reasonable assumption from the facts that Mr Assange was deliberately avoiding interrogation before he left Sweden, Riddle said.

Assange is wanted in Sweden in connection with two allegations of sexual assault against him. While one woman claims that Assange sexually molested her by ignoring her request for him to use a condom during sex, another has accused him of having sex with her while she was asleep and without a condom.

Assange, who has attracted the ire of the American government and several other authorities across the world, maintains that all the allegations is part of a smear campaign launched against him.