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London, United Kingdom (AHN) – The British high court is scheduled to decide as soon as Thursday whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges.

Assange won release from jail by posting bail Tuesday but had his freedom revoked hours later when British prosecutors objected.

The prosecutors said Assange posed a high risk that he would flee to escape punishment.

Assange says the pending charges are merely a sham to hide the political reprisal behind the criminal prosecution.

The real motive behind the charges is to silence him and his Web site after the release of secret government documents that have embarrassed the United States, Russia and other countries, according to Assange and his supporters.

Assange has spent the past week in jail after allegations of sexual assault by two Swedish women.

His lawyer, Mark Stephens, says he is being held in “Dickensian conditions” at Wandsworth prison.

The U.S. Justice Department also wants to prosecute Assange, but on charges that he engaged in espionage by leaking more than 250,000 documents with classified State Department communications.

The communications, called cables, reveal inside and often embarrassing U.S. perceptions of foreign political leaders.

The most recent cables Wikileaks published this weak reveal that the U.S. and British governments often wasted time and money trying to block the thriving illegal drug trade between West Africa and Europe.

Some government officials were mentioned in the cables for intentionally interfering with the anti-smuggling efforts and notifying drug traffickers when they were targeted for investigation.

At one point, Ghana’s president asked British officials to screen his own entourage for smuggled drugs as they passed through airport security, according to the cables Wikileaks published.

Assange was briefly granted his request to be released on bail Tuesday under conditions that he obey a curfew and wear an electronic tracking tag.

His attorney argued unsuccessfully that it was absurd to assume Assange would flee when he would be recognized worldwide.

The legal team also gave a glimpse of Assange’s defense on the criminal charges. His attorney said Assange never used violence against the women and had sex with one of the women while she slept, indicating that he would not be guilty of a crime under English law.

When asked whether he understood that he would be arrested if he failed to obey conditions of his release, Assange said, “I understand that, your honor.”

Assange denied wrongdoing when he was interviewed by Swedish police in August.

International outrage continues because of the arrest as human rights groups, heads of state from Australia and Russia and Wikileaks supporters say the criminal charges represent an effort to squelch free speech.

During the bail hearing, Nobel prize-winning scientist John Sulston and film-maker Michael Moore spoke in favor of releasing Assange.

Outside the courtroom, protesters staged what they called a “Justice for Assange Campaign.”

One of them held up a sign saying, “Exposing war crimes is no crime.”

Assange issued a statement criticizing Visa, MasterCard and PayPal for their decision to block further donations to Wikileaks.

Assange accused the electronic payment companies of being “instruments of U.S. foreign policy.”

He also said he had done nothing wrong.

“I remain true to the ideals I’ve expressed,” Assange said. “This circumstance (of being held in custody) will not shake them.”

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