Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, a judge has ruled. At Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south London, District Judge Howard Riddle said the extradition would not breach Mr Assange's human rights. Mr Assange will appeal against the court ruling. He denies three allegations of sexual assault and one of rape last August in Stockholm. He believe the claims are politically motivated because of Wikileaks' work. The whistle-blowing website has made headlines worldwide with the publication of sensitive material - including leaked US diplomatic cables - from governments and high-profile organisations. Judge Riddle dismissed the argument that Mr Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden that had been made by his lawyers during the two-and-half-day hearing earlier this month. They had argued that criticism by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had made Mr Assange "public enemy number one" in Sweden. But delivering his ruling on Thursday, the judge said: "The defence refer to the alleged denigration of the defendant by the Swedish prime minister. "For this reason and other reasons it is said Mr Assange will not receive a fair trial. I don't accept this was the purpose of the comment or the effect." 'Death penalty risk' Mr Assange was arrested on 7 December under a European Arrest Warrant, and spent nine days in Wandsworth prison before being released on bail. During the hearing two weeks ago, Mr Assange's lawyer argued that rape trials in Sweden were regularly "tried in secret behind closed doors in a flagrant denial of justice". Geoffrey Robertson QC also said his client could later be extradited to the US on separate charges relating to Wikileaks, and could face the death penalty there. Clare Montgomery QC, for the Swedish authorities, told the hearing that evidence from a trial would be heard in private but the arguments would be made in public. In response to the suggested risk of extradition to the US and a possible death penalty, she said Sweden provided "protection against that sort of threat and violation" taking place. The European Court of Human Rights would intervene if Mr Assange was to face the prospect of "inhuman or degrading treatment or an unfair trial" in the US, she said. Source: BBC