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Judge Denies Assange's Request To Drop UK Arrest Warrant

A British judge denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request to overturn a 2012 warrant for skipping bail.

Judge Denies Assange's Request To Drop UK Arrest Warrant
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A U.K. judge denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request to overturn his 2012 arrest warrant. That's according to multiple outlets.

He's wanted in the U.K. for skipping bail. In a separate case, he entered the Ecuador Embassy in London years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over accusations of sexual misconduct and rape. Swedish authorities dropped the charges, assuming they couldn't get Assange to the country for questioning, but the U.K. still has a warrant.

Assange has avoided arrest by seeking asylum at the embassy for the past five and a half years.

Last month, the WikiLeaks founder and his lawyers asked British authorities to drop the warrant because the threat of extradition was over.

NBC News reports prosecutors argued dropping the warrant would reward Assange for avoiding the law.

If Assange leaves the embassy, he could be arrested, but what would happen after that is unclear.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.