U.N. Panel says WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange should be Freed

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, should be freed and compensated for all of the time lost while being "arbitrarily detained" by Britain and Sweden, a United Nations human rights panel concluded.

The Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said, "It's time that they free Julian Assange."

"The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention," said panel chairman Seong-Phil Hong in a statement reported by TIME.

The panel continued, "The adequate remedy would be to ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation."

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that even after five years of issuing an arrest warrant, Sweden has yet to press any charges against Assange, who has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 after he was accused of rape in 2010. The panel added that Swedish prosecutors have also failed to show Assange the evidence that has been built against him and have not given Assange the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

Sweden and Britain have rejected the panel's findings and stated that if Assange left the Ecuadorean Embassy, they would "make every effort to arrest him."

The spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority, Karin Rosander, said that the panel's findings will have no "formal impact." Philip Hammond, Britain's Foreign Secretary, said the panel's conclusions were "frankly ridiculous."

Sweden is still looking to question Assange over the alleged rape, which Assange has repeatedly denied being responsible for. Despite claiming his innocence, Assange has refused to return to Sweden out of fear that he will be extradited to the United States.

Assange's lawyers are pressing for his immediate release. They added that Assange should be protected from possible extradition to the U.S.

It is currently unclear whether or not U.S. prosecutors are looking to arrest Assange.

To read the Working Group report, click here.