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LONDON (BBC News) | The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been refused bail by a court in London but vowed to fight extradition to Sweden.
Mr Assange denies sexually assaulting two women in Sweden. He was remanded in custody pending a hearing next week.
A judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court refused bail because of the risk of the 39-year-old fleeing.
A Wikileaks spokesman said the arrest was an attack on media freedom and pledged to continue publishing.
After the court appearance Mr Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens said he would be applying again for bail.
He claimed the charges were "politically motivated" and said the judge was keen to see the evidence against Mr Assange, an Australian citizen.
Mr Stephens said Wikileaks would continue to publish material and added: "We are on cable 301 and there are 250,000 secret cables."
Prosecutors in Sweden have insisted the extradition request is a matter of criminal law and they "have not been put under any kind of pressure, political or otherwise".
But district judge Howard Riddle refused bail for Mr Assange and he was remanded in custody until 14 December.
Judge Riddle said he believed Mr Assange might flee and he also feared he "may be at risk from unstable persons".
Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, gave details of the allegations against Mr Assange.
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The charges
- Used his body weight to hold down Miss A in a sexual manner.
- Had unprotected sex with Miss A when she had insisted on him using a condom.
- Molested Miss A "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity".
- Had unprotected sex with Miss W while she was asleep.
One of the charges is that he had unprotected sex with a woman, identified only as Miss A, when she insisted he use a condom.
Another is that he had unprotected sex with another woman, Miss W, while she was asleep.
Mr Assange, who was accompanied by Australian consular officials, initially refused to say where he lived but eventually gave an address in Australia.
Afterwards Ms Khan explained why she was willing to put up a surety: "I offered my support as I believe that this is about the universal right of freedom of information and our right to be told the truth."
Secret locations
He said Wikileaks was being operated by a group in London and other secret locations.
US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said it was possible the US would make an extradition request for Mr Assange but he said it was premature as the criminal investigation into Wikileaks was still ongoing.
Mr Assange was arrested by appointment at a London police station at 0930 GMT.
Mr Assange's supporters have written an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, asking her to protect him.
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