WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has challenged British Prime Minister David Cameron to repeat outside parliament an assertion he's been asked to stand trial in Sweden on a rape allegation.
The 44-year-old Australian on Wednesday disputed the PM's statement in the House of Commons earlier in the day that he should come out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he's been holed up and face the arrest warrant against him.
"He is being asked to stand trial in Sweden, a country with a fair reputation for justice, and he should bring to the end this whole sorry saga," Cameron said.
He labelled as "ridiculous" a ruling on Friday by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Assange had been "arbitrarily detained" through the actions of the British and Swedish governments.
Both governments have rejected the UN panel's ruling that Assange should be allowed to go free and be compensated for his time in "detention".
But in a statement Assange said Swedish prosecutors had said the proceedings against him were a "preliminary investigation".
"I see that the prime minister, barricading himself in the legal impunity of parliament has decided to libel me. Let him step outside and try. Not only am I not 'wanted for trial', I haven't been charged," he said.
Assange sought asylum in the embassy in June 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden over sexual assault allegations.
He fears if he's extradited to Sweden he will be sent on to the US to face an espionage case against him over WikiLeaks' release of top secret military documents.
Assange said on Wednesday he had been granted asylum by Ecuador over the US extradition threat but the UK and Sweden had refused to abide by their asylum law obligations and veto such an extradition.
In parliament on Wednesday Cameron said the UN panel's ruling was "a ridiculous decision".
"You have got a man here with an outstanding allegation of rape against him, he barricaded himself into the Ecuadorian embassy and yet claims he was 'arbitrarily detained'.
"The only person who detained him was himself."
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop met with members of Assange's legal team last week and said she was seeking legal advice on the UN report's implications for Assange as an Australian citizen.
She was asked to restore Assange's passport and take steps to help negotiate a resolution of the case.
