WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange continues to remain behind bars as Swedish prosecutors have decided to appeal against the bail granted to him by a British court on strict conditions in a case related to charges of sexual offences.
District judge Howard Riddle had earlier granted Assange conditional bail on the requirement of a bond amount of 240,000 pounds, among other conditions to ensure that he does not flee the country.
The 39-year-old Australian, who was accused of sexual misconduct by two women in Sweden, is resisting an extradition claim by the country. As part of the bail conditions, Assange must also surrender his passport, obey a curfew at a specified address, wear an electronic tag and report to a local police station every evening.
A number of high-profile individuals, including Mick Jagger and Jemima Khan, are willing stand guarantee for Assange.
But he is now expected to remain in prison until the appeal is heard in the next 48 hours, and until a 200,000 pound cash required up-front by the court is collected.
Assange, who has earned the wrath of the US for leaking a huge cache of secret diplomatic documents, has been imprisoned for a week now after he gave himself up to Scotland Yard here.
The WikiLeaks founder appeared in the Westminster Magistrate's court amid scenes of bedlam outside the court where his supporters protested to seek his release.
Assange denies sexually assaulting the two women in Sweden. Speaking to reporters outside the court after the hearing, Assange's lawyer Mark Stevens said his client has been granted bail but the problematic condition is that it requires the payment of 200,000 pounds in cash, suggesting that it might take more time to gather it.
"That's an awful lot of money and its a pity that he can't use Mastercard or Visa in order to assist him to arrange that and in terms of that its clearly going to take us an inordinately long period of time to gather that together," he said.
Stevens said one of the reasons Assange had chosen to fight the case in the UK was his belief in British justice. "... And of course he has been encouraged in that today," he said after the court granted a bail.
Many demonstrators gathered outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for the bail hearing on Wednesday. "It is a victory for common sense. If he had been refused bail, it would have meant the court had become a political arena," author Yvonne Ridley said.