WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures during a press conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Aug. 18, 2014.(Photo: JOHN STILLWELL, AFP/Getty Images)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he would allow British officials to arrest him if a United Nations panel rules against him in a case against the United Kingdom and Sweden about his detention in London.
"Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden<span style="color: Red;">*</span>I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal," the Australian national<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wrote in a statement released on Twitter.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is expected to announce Friday its verdict on whether Assange is being detained illegally, according to media reports.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The decision comes more than 16 months after the man
filed a complaint with the panel about his detention.
The panel has previously ruled on whether a person's imprisonment or detention is lawful, leading to releases,
the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sidney Morning Herald<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reported.
Assange noted that if the panel rules in his favor, he expects the return of his passport and "the termination of further attempts to arrest me."
Assange has spent more than three years living in Ecuador's Embassy of London<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in order to evade arrest. If he steps outside of the embassy, he would immediately be arrested and face extradition to Sweden and the United States.
Sweden sought extradition because Assange is accused of being involved with a suspected rape. Assange had faced three other sexual assault charges in the country, but they expired in August because of the statute of limitations.
USA TODAY
Sweden drops part of Assange sex assault charges
Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department has sought Assange's extradition in order to charge him with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>espionage related to WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of diplomatic letters.
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