Judge grants Assange bail
WikiLeaks founder’s freedom restricted

LONDON – After nine days in jail, Julian Assange was released on bail Thursday by a British judge who ruled that the controversial WikiLeaks founder could fight extradition to Sweden over sex-crimes allegations from the tony confines of a friend’s country estate.
Assange was released Thursday evening after putting up nearly $375,000 in cash in bail and other financial assurances. In a sign of how politically charged the case is, the courthouse in downtown London stayed open late so that the 39-year-old Australian could complete the required paperwork and emerge a free man.
“It’s great to smell (the) fresh air of London again,” Assange said triumphantly on the courthouse steps, as fat snowflakes swirled in the air and admirers cheered. He thanked his supporters, his lawyers and the British legal system, “where if justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet.”
Assange now swaps what his lawyer called the “Dickensian conditions” of a south London jail for the comforts of a 10-bedroom manor set on 600 acres of prime English countryside. The sprawling estate of Ellingham Hall, northeast of London, belongs to a friend who had vouched for Assange in court.
But the terms of bail require Assange to surrender his passport, abide by a curfew and report daily to police. He must also wear an electronic tag so that authorities can monitor his movements.
He is due in court again early next month for the start of proceedings on his potential extradition to Sweden, where authorities want to question him over allegations of molestation, unlawful coercion and rape stemming from encounters he had with two women in August.
Assange said he was worried about what might happen if the U.S. succeeded in laying its hands on him. There are reports that American officials may charge him with espionage.
“I don’t have too many fears about being extradited to Sweden. There are much bigger concerns about being extradited to the United States,” Assange told reporters.