Assange must face court, says Jemima Khan

London, June 22 (IANS) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must face court and answer sex crime allegations in Sweden instead of trying to avoid extradition and taking refuge inside the Ecuador embassy, Jemima Khan, one of the people who collected his bail money, has said.

Jemima, daughter of British billionaire James Goldsmith and former wife of Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, was among those who put up a total of 240,000 pounds bail for the 40-year-old WikiLeaks founder.

Assange's supporters risk losing their money after he spent two nights in the Ecuador embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, the Telegraph reported.

Jemima said Assange's alleged victims deserved justice too, and that he should respond to the allegations.

"For the record, in response to those asking about Assange & bail money... I personally would like to see Assange confront the rape allegations in Sweden and the two women at the centre have a right to a response," she wrote on Twitter.

Jemima, however, said Assange was concerned because his website published thousands of US diplomatic cables, and he might face further extradition to America.

"But there is no doubt that Assange has a real fear of being extradited to the US nor that the US gov is out to get WikiLeaks," she wrote.

In an interview from inside the embassy to ABC Radio Australia, Assange accused Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard of "slimy rhetoric" and the Swedish authorities of failing to respect his human rights.

"The Swedes announced publicly that they would detain me, in prison, without charge while they continued their so-called investigation," he said.

He dismissed repeated claims from the Australian government that he has been receiving consular assistance.

"I haven't met with anyone from the Australian High Commission since December 2010," Assange said.

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