UK court to rule on Assange arrest warrant

LONDON — A British court is to decide Tuesday whether to lift a UK arrest warrant for Julian Assange, potentially paving the way for the WikiLeaks founder to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has spent the last five years. If the court rules in Mr. Assange’s favor, allowing him to leave the embassy in the British capital without fear of arrest, it would be the first time that he has stepped outside embassy grounds since seeking asylum there in June 2012. Mr. Assange entered the Ecuadorian embassy to dodge a European arrest warrant and extradition to Sweden over a 2010 probe in the Scandinavian country into rape and sexual assault allegations. Sweden dropped its investigation last year, but British police are still seeking to arrest Mr. Assange for failing to surrender to a court after violating bail terms during his unsuccessful battle against extradition. Mr. Assange only very rarely emerges on the balcony of the embassy building, citing concerns for his personal safety, but frequently takes part in media conferences and campaigns via video link. Earlier this month, Ecuador said it had granted citizenship to Mr. Assange, born in Australia, and asked Britain to recognize him as a diplomat in an unsuccessful attempt to provide him with immunity and usher him out of its embassy without the threat of arrest. But London swiftly rejected the move. “Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice,” the British government said. —