The WikiLeaks founder sought asylum from Ecuador in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations, which he denies. The British Foreign Office said it would not pre-empt the panel’s findings, but said in a statement: “We have been consistently clear that Mr Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the UK but is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorian embassy. “An allegation of rape is still outstanding and a European arrest warrant in place, so the UK continues to have a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden.” 
 
 In a statement issued by WikiLeaks on Twitter, Assange said that if the UN panel rejected his claim, he would voluntarily walk out of the embassy on Friday and accept arrest “as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal”. He added: “However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.” 
 
 Neither Sweden nor the UK will be compelled to take any action, but a source familiar with the working group said that if the governments choose to ignore the decision, it could make it difficult for them in future to bring pressure on other countries over human rights violations.
– For Julian Assange, there's good news and bad news. The good is that a UN panel has ruled in his favor and found that Britain is essentially keeping him in arbitrary detention, reports the BBC. The bad is that London doesn't care and vows to arrest him if he tries to leave the Ecuadorean embassy, reports Reuters. The developments come after Assange appealed to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to look into his case. The official ruling is to be made public on Friday, but both the BBC and the Guardian say the panel has sided with Assange. The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the embassy for more than three years, hoping to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face sex-crimes charges. In an earlier tweet, Assange said he would turn himself in to police if the panel ruled against him, reports the AP. "However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me," he wrote. That appears unlikely: A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday that the ruling isn't legally binding and that Assange—who also fears extradition to the US over the leaking of military secrets—would be immediately arrested if he tries to leave. WikiLeaks, meanwhile, says it is awaiting confirmation of the news reports about the ruling.