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Assange must face court, says Jemima Khan

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jan 24 2013 | 1:49 AM IST

The socialite and charity fundraiser, who faces losing the 20,000 pounds she put towards his bail money after Assange took refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London and sought political asylum, said on Twitter that the women deserved a response to their allegations.

"For the record, in response to those asking about Assange and bail money.... I personally would like to see Assange confront the rape allegations in Sweden and the 2 women at the centre have a right to a response," Jemima said.

But Khan, one of several high-profile celebrities and activists who have supported Assange since his arrest in December 2010, said she also believed Assange was justified over his fears of being extradited to the US if he goes to Sweden.

"[T]here is no doubt that Assange has a real fear of being extradited to the US nor that the US govt is out to get WikiLeaks," she tweeted.

Assange, 40, today expressed fear that he may be sent to the US to face possible criminal charges punishable by death for publishing some 250,000 leaked American diplomatic cables.

Khan and other supporters of Assange, including film director Ken Loach and publisher Felix Dennis, posted bail totalling 200,000 pounds to Westminster magistrates court, with a further 40,000 pounds as promised sureties, to secure the WikiLeaks' founder's freedom when he first faced extradition proceedings in 2010.

Earlier this week, she voiced her surprise at Assange's asylum bid, writing on Twitter that she had "expected him to face the allegations".

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Britain's supreme court last month upheld a high court ruling from last year that Assange could be extradited to Sweden, where he faces accusations of raping a woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in Stockholm while on a visit to give a lecture in August 2010.

Assange says the sex was consensual and the allegations against him are politically motivated.

His WikiLeaks website has published a huge quantity of US diplomatic and military cables, and his lawyers say that if he goes to Sweden he risks extradition to the US on espionage charges for which the penalty can be death.

Assange, an Australian national, has until 28 June to take his case to a European court in Strasbourg if he wishes to argue he did not receive a fair trial in Britain.

  

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First Published: Jun 22 2012 | 8:36 PM IST

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