http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40696331/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/LONDON — A British judge released Julian Assange on bail Thursday, freeing the WikiLeaks founder to work on his secret-spilling website from a mansion in eastern England.
Assange, who is fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning on sex crimes allegations, emerged from London's High Court to address reporters and supporters before driving off to the estate where he is due to spend much of the next month.
"It's great to smell the fresh air of London again," Assange said amid a barrage of flash bulbs.
A WikiLeaks spokesman said Assange would be able to make use of the mansion's fast Internet connection and return to work.
Assange gave no indication of what his immediate plans were, but said the period he spent in prison had given him time to reflect on the condition of inmates elsewhere. He didn't responded to shouted questions from assembled journalists, returning inside the court to get into his lawyer's car.
Assange is headed to Ellingham Hall, in Bungay, which is owned by Vaughan Smith, a WikiLeaks supporter and founder of London's Frontline Club for journalists. Assange will have to observe a curfew, wear an electronic tag and report to police every day — restrictions imposed by High Court Justice Duncan Ouseley.
Assange denies sex-crimes allegations stemming from a visit to Sweden over the summer, accusations that have clouded his reputation and prompted complaints from supporters that the 39-year-old Australian is being persecuted for political reasons.
Two women have accused Assange of rape, molestation and unlawful coercion in separate incidents in August in Sweden. He has not been charged.
Assange's lawyers say the allegations stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex" and argue that he has offered to make himself available for questioning via video link or in person in Britain.
Lawyer Gemma Lindfield, acting for Sweden, said the allegations had enhanced Assange's reputation among his supporters, who "view it as part of the wider conspiracy." She said given Assange's nomadic lifestyle and loose ties to some of those promising bond, there was "a real risk" he would flee.
But the judge said when Assange arrived in Britain, he had asked his lawyers to contact police so they would know where he was.
"That is not the conduct of a person who is seeking to evade justice," Ouseley said.
Swedish Prosecutor Marianne Ny said the bail decision would not change the ongoing investigation in Sweden, and the extradition case would be handled by British authorities.
Assange's next extradition hearing is set for Jan. 11.
WikiLeaks has provoked U.S. fury by publishing part of a trove of 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, including details of overseas sites that Washington regards as vital to its security.
Internet activists have targeted websites of organizations they believe have obstructed WikiLeaks, including Visa, MasterCard and the Swedish prosecutor's office, whose website was out of action for 12 hours on Tuesday night.
Britain's Sky News said it had spoken to a spokesman from "Anonymous," a loose group of activists, who said their pool of targets was very limited and would not include the media.
"We are going after the agencies that were directly involved in the censorship of WikiLeaks," said the spokesman, who called himself "Bass."
"They include PayPal who cut off service and withheld funds. The same with Visa and MasterCard, then Amazon who cut off their service support," he said.
Assange and his lawyers have voiced fears that U.S. prosecutors may be preparing to indict him for espionage over WikiLeaks' publication of the documents.
The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors were looking for evidence that Assange had conspired with a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking classified documents in order to bring charges against him.
Story: Feds probe whether Assange helped leaker
Legal experts say that, in the event that the United States did prosecute him, it would be easier to extradite him from Britain — which has a fast-track extradition treaty with Washington — than from Sweden.
If Assange was extradited to Sweden on the sex crime allegations, Sweden could not then extradite him to the United States to face hypothetical charges over the leak of classified information without getting Britain's permission, Geoff Gilbert, a law professor at the University of Essex, told Reuters.
