WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pledged to fight moves to extradite him to Sweden after he was refused bail at a court appearance in London.

      The 39-year-old has been remanded in custody after appearing before magistrates on an extradition warrant for questioning on sexual assault charges in Sweden.

      According to sources, the elusive Australian is being held in Wandsworth prison.

      During the hearing, high-profile supporters of Mr Assange - including film director Ken Loach, veteran journalist John Pilger and socialite Jemima Khan - offered a total of £180,000 bail surety.

      Mr Assange was asked during his hearing whether he understood he could consent to be extradited to Sweden.

It is thought Mr Assange has been hiding in the south east of England

      He replied: "I understand that and I do not consent."

      Mr Assange's lawyer Mark Stevens told Sky News after the hearing that a fresh bail application would be lodged.

      He said: "I have described this Swedish process as a persecution and not a prosecution."

      Within minutes of the hearing, Swedish authorities insisted the charges had nothing to do with the Wikileaks website.

      Sky correspondent Paul Harrison, who was in court, said: "There were many generous offers of bail surety, but during the judge's summing up the bail application was denied on the grounds there was a risk he would fail to surrender."

      The charges against him in Sweden are absurd and were judged as absurd by the chief prosecutor there when she threw the whole thing out until a senior political figure intervened.

      Mr Pilger, who offered £20,000, said he had a "very high regard" for Assange as a journalist and personal friend.

      He told City of Westminster Magistrates' Court: "I am here today because the charges against him in Sweden are absurd and were judged as absurd by the chief prosecutor there when she threw the whole thing out until a senior political figure intervened."

      A post on Wikileaks Twitter account labelled the decision to refuse bail "bizarre".

      Sky News foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said: "The longer he is in this country, the more possibility there is the Americans will find a law they can reasonably charge him with and get a prosecution."

      The longer he is in this country, the more possibility there is the Americans will find a law they can reasonably charge him with and get a prosecution.

      He added that legal workers had been surprised at the court decision to refuse bail.

      Assange has been accused of four sexual assault allegations in connection with two separate incidents when he visited Sweden in August.

      Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, told the London court the first complainant, Miss A, said she was victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of August 14 in Stockholm.

      The court heard Assange is accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.

      The second charge alleged Assange "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.

Mr Assange had been added to Interpol's 'most wanted' list

      The third charge claimed Assange "deliberately molested" Miss A on August 18 "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity".

      The fourth charge accused Assange of having sex with a second woman, Miss W, on August 17 without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home.

      During the one-hour hearing Assange, who strenuously denies the charges, appeared pale but calm in the dock.

      He was ordered to appear again before City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on December 14.

      WikiLeaks, which has seen its bank accounts cancelled and its websites attacked since releasing the US diplomatic cables, has vowed to keep operating as normal.

      Reporting from a press briefing in Washington, Sky News' Hannah Thomas-Peter said a White House spokesman claimed the US had "offered some people affected (by the Wikileaks revelations) the chance to move to a safer location".

      In an article for The Australian newspaper, Assange said his website deserves protection and governments around the world must not "shoot the messenger".

Source from Sky News

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