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WATCH LIVE: Julian Assange is about to speak out after the UN said he is 'arbitrarily detained'

Lianna Brinded,Rob Price,Barbara Tasch   

WATCH LIVE: Julian Assange is about to speak out after the UN said he is 'arbitrarily detained'

At noon (UK time), Julian Assange is speaking at a press conference in London, following a ruling by a UN panel that he has been "arbitrarily detained."

Watch the livestream below, and refresh this page regularly for updates, or click here.

12.08 - Cites "unlawful FBI surveillance activity in Europe" as evidence of a case being built by the US against Assange.

12.06 - Lawyer Jennifer Robinson citing Wikileaks' achievements. Iraq War logs, etc.

12.04 - The YouTube livestream doesn't seem to be working properly. The Guardian has a working one.

12.02 - The conference will explain the UN's finding and what the UK and Sweden "must" do, lawyer Jennifer Robinson says. "The deprivation of Assange is arbitrary and in contravention of the ... Declaration of Human Rights."

The UN ruling is a "resounding victory."

12.00 -  The livestream is now live! No speaking yet though.

11.58 - Protestors and journalists gather outside the Embassy.

embassy protesters assange

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protestors journalists ecaudor embassy

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11:55 - Reporters are convinced Assange could be making an appearance on the balcony at the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, where he was granted political asylum by Ecuador since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over allegations of sex offenses and rape, which he denies.

Business Insider reporter Barbara Tasch is outside the embassy at the moment and she says the crowd is swelling.

 

The Wikileaks editor-in-chief has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual assault and rape.

He maintains that if extradited to Sweden, he will be subsequently extradited to the US to stand trial for his work on Wikileaks, a whistleblowing platform.

On Friday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention announced the results of an investigation that has been underway since 2012: "The Working Group on arbitrary detention considers that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention."

However, the UK government says that it will arrest Assange if he leaves the embassy. Likewise, the Swedish ambassador to the UN said: "Mr. Assange has chosen, voluntarily, to stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy and the Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay there. Mr. Assange is free to leave the Embassy at any point. Thus, he is not deing deprived of his liberty there due to any decision or action taken by the Swedish authorities."

Watch the stream here from midday, London time:

 

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