91Èȱ¬

Julian Assange is a political dissident who should now be allowed to go free, according to journalist Vaughan Smith, who gave the Wikileaks founder refuge in 2010.

Speaking on the Today programme before a decision from a UN panel was released, Mr Smith said he hoped there would be a resolution to the situation that has seen Assange spend years inside the Ecuadorian embassy.

Mr Assange claimed asylum in London's Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex assault claims, which he denies. The Met Police say he will still be held if he does leave the embassy.

In 2014, Mr Assange complained to the UN that he was being "arbitrarily detained" as he could not leave the embassy without being arrested.

The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is due to announce the findings of its investigation into the case on Friday and Assange has said he would accept arrest if the panel ruled against him, but called for his arrest warrant to be dropped if the decision went his way.

Show less