Julian Assange to appear in court to appeal for release

The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, will try to win his release from prison tomorrow, a week after being held on remand after Sweden requested his arrest over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women, The Guardian reported.

Even if the judge at Westminster magistrates court in London grants Assange bail, he could still be held.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which will represent the Swedish authorities in the UK court, has the right to appeal against any bail decision. Usually the suspect would be held in custody until an appeal hearing anyway.

Raj Joshi, a former head of the European and international division at the CPS, and an expert on extradition, said: "If they feel they have grounds for opposing bail, they would be duty bound to appeal that. He'll be held pending the appeal, and until it is decided. That hearing is usually held within 48 hours."

The chances of Assange going underground, given that his face was "plastered all around the world", were low, he added. "With a number of conditions, such as, maybe, a tag, it would be difficult to see why bail would not be granted."

The decision on whether to oppose bail will be made by the Swedish authorities, with Britain's CPS merely representing their interests at tomorrow's hearing. Speculation that the US could lodge an extradition request continued over the weekend, but it is regarded as highly unlikely that any such request would be lodged tomorrow.