Lawyers and the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange yesterday ramped up pressure on the Australian government to intervene over his extradition to Sweden, saying he will not get a fair trial.

Mr Assange, who is Australian, on Wednesday lost a bitter legal battle to block his being sent from Britain to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Two judges at the High Court in London rejected arguments by the 40-year-old, whose anti-secrecy website has enraged governments around the world, that his extradition would be unlawful.

Mr Assange, a former computer hacker, now has 14 days to take the case to the Supreme Court, the highest legal authority in Britain.

His legal counsel Geoffrey Robertson called on the Australian government to step in. “I think Canberra may have to do something about it,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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