Jane Onyanga-Omara

USA TODAY

LONDON — The United Nations ruled Friday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been "arbitrarily detained" by the United Kingdom and Sweden since he was arrested in 2010 and that he should be allowed to leave Ecuador's Embassy in London without facing arrest.

In a statement, the U.N.'s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, called on both countries “to end Mr. Assange’s deprivation of liberty, respect his physical integrity and freedom of movement, and afford him the right to compensation.”

It said Assange's initial detention in a London prison, his subsequent house arrest and "confinement" at the embassy were "disproportionate" reactions.

Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's Embassy in London since June 2012. If he steps outside, British police said he would immediately be arrested and face extradition to Sweden and the United States. Sweden is seeking his extradition because Assange is accused of being involved in a suspected rape case, an allegation he denies. He has not been formally charged.

Assange had faced three other sexual assault charges in the country, but they expired in August because of the statute of limitations. The U.S. Justice Department said it is considering charging Assange with espionage related to WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of diplomatic letters.

He told a news conference in London by video link that the U.N. panel's findings proved that he had been unlawfully detained. Later, addressing media from a balcony at the embassy, he said that the British and Swedish governments had deprived his children of their father for over five years.

He said the ruling was a "victory" for his cause.

The British and Swedish governments maintain the ruling from the U.N. is not legally binding, but the U.N. says the organization's conclusions "are legally binding to the extent that they are based on binding international human rights law."

A statement from Sweden said "Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay there. Mr. Assange is free to leave the Embassy at any point.”

The U.K. said it will formally contest the panel's decision.

"This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention," the British government said in a statement.

"An allegation of rape is still outstanding and a European Arrest Warrant in place, so the U.K. continues to have a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden," it said.

Assange said Thursday he would leave the embassy Friday and allow British police to arrest him if the panel ruled against him.

Duncan French, a professor of international law at the University of Lincoln in England, said the ruling was only a recommendation.

“My main concern is that it (the decision) dilutes much more genuine cases of arbitrary detention where the state really is locking people up and throwing away the key. For me, this is an unfortunate engagement by the U.N. system — it’s something that should be dealt with by the normal legal process,” he said.

Assange says he'll accept arrest if U.N. rules against him

The announcement by the panel comes more than 14 months after the Australian national filed a complaint about his detention.

Assange was initially detained at a London prison in 2010. When his appeal against extradition to Sweden was dismissed by Britain’s Supreme Court in May 2012 he sought refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy the following month.

"I think in the world we live in today where you have big corporations and very powerful governments, we definitely need the work of whistleblowers and organizations like WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden," said Rodrigo Firmino, a Brazilian academic at University College London who does research into surveillance.

"All these guys are doing a great job exposing things that should be more transparent," he said.