Julian Assange: Twitter users mock UN ruling on 'arbitrary detention'

A UN panel said Mr Assange's stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy and previous imprisonment constituted 'arbitrary detention'

(Getty Images)

A United Nations ruling that Julian Assange must be freed from “arbitrary detention” by the UK and Sweden is being treated with scepticism on Twitter.

The British Government has already said it will formally contest accusations that the Wikileaks founder’s stay in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London constitutes a “deprivation of liberty'' in violation of his fundamental human rights.

Many commenters using social media in the wake of the verdict appeared to agree on Friday, mocking the definition of “arbitrarily detained” with photos of locked toilet doors, cats on laps and train ticket barriers.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had called on the UK and Sweden to immediately end Mr Assange’s “deprivation of liberty'' and compensate him.

Swedish prosecutors want to question him over allegations of rape stemming from a working visit he made to the country in 2010, when revelations made by WikiLeaks on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were reverberating around the world.

Mr Assange fears Sweden will extradite him to authorities in the US where he could be put on trial over the publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.

He has consistently denied the rape allegations but refused to return to Sweden and eventually sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has lived since June 2012.

When the UN’s findings were leaked on Thursday, Mr Assange said he expected the “immediate return” of his passport and the termination of further arrest attempts.

But the ruling is not binding and Sweden said it would have no impact on its continuing criminal investigation.

“This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention,” a spokesperson for the British Government said.

“The opinion of the UN Working Group ignores the facts and the well-recognised protections of the British legal system.

“He is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy.”

The spokesperson said that as a rape allegation against Mr Assange is still being investigated in Sweden and subject to a European arrest warrant, the UK has a legal obligation to extradite him.

“We are deeply frustrated that this unacceptable situation is still being allowed to continue,” the Government spokesperson added.

“Ecuador must engage with Sweden in good faith to bring it to an end.

“Americas Minister Hugo Swire made this clear to the Ecuadorean Ambassador in November, and we continue to raise the matter in Quito."