Updated at 17:34
WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE will remain in police custody after Swedish authorities challenged a London court’s decision to grant him bail, according to reporters who were present at the court hearing.
An appeal will take place within 48 hours, the Guardian reports.
Assange was refused bail last week after a judge deemed him a flight risk.
Today, his lawyers offered a permanent address for Assange in the UK and over £200,000 in surety for bail, the Guardian reports. He was initially granted bail, but Swedish prosecutors appealed this decision.
Assange will have to appear in court on the 11 January and faces extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations. Bail conditions would have included Assange wearing an electronic tag and surrendering his passport.
The WikiLeaks founder voluntarily met with police in the UK a week ago after an international warrant was issued on a request from Sweden. Swedish authorities seek to interview Assange, 39, over allegations of sexual assault made by two women regarding his visit there in August.
The judge told reporters in court today that they could tweet proceedings, so long as they didn’t disturb anyone.
Counsel for the prosecution argued that the court had already found that Assange is a flight risk and claims that nothing has changed, according to the Times of London correspondent Alexi Mostrous.
One of Assange’s friends, restaurant designer Sarah Saunders, offered £15o,000 as surety and signed a bail document in court.
Supporters
Assange’s mother Christine has travelled from Australia to support her son in court, and small group of protesters who support him have begun gathering outside the courthouse.
The Guardian reports that the British government is preparing for a possible cyber-attack against its websites after supporters of WikiLeaks targeted PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and Amazon, although Amazon denied its services had been caused by the hackers. The three financial services sites were targeted by hackers after they withdrew their services to WikiLeaks.
Assange criticised the companies’ withdrawal of service in a statement he wrote in prison, saying they are “instruments of foreign policy”, according to the Telegraph.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Wade
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