JULIAN Assange may be able to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London for the first time in nearly four years if the United Nations rules in his favour on Friday.
The Australia is expected to learn the outcome of a United Nations investigation into his case, which could rule that the WikiLeaks founder is being detained illegally.
Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy since June 2012 after he was granted asylum. He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a sex assault allegation, which he has always denied.
He believes he will be transported to the US to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden. There is an espionage case against him in the US.
He filed a complaint against Sweden and the UK in September 2014 which has been considered by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The group, made up of legal experts, has made previous rulings on whether imprisonment or detention is lawful, which have led to people being released.
It is understood a decision will be published on Friday. If the group concludes Assange is being unlawfully detained, the UN is expected to call on the UK and Sweden to release him.
Assange has offered to be interviewed inside the embassy by Swedish prosecutors.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has said questions submitted by Swedish prosecutors would be asked by Ecuadorean officials.
The Swedish prosecutor handling the case, Marianne Ny, is believed to be still considering a request to let Ecuadorean officials do the interrogation.
Before entering the embassy, Assange was under house arrest and in prison since December 2010. He has not been charged.
In his submission, Assange said he had been “pursued and pilloried” by US authorities ever since WikiLeaks started publishing documents that revealed “politically embarrassing” information. This includes the leaking of the Iraq War Logs, which implicates US soldiers in potential war crimes.
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