The man who Julian Assange will spend Christmas with if he's released from prison in the next few days says the WikiLeaks founder fears being hauled off to the United States and "thrown into a dark room".
Mr Assange has been granted conditional bail by a British court but remains in prison while Swedish authorities appeal the decision.
They want the 39-year-old Australian returned to Sweden to face a sex-crimes investigation.
But if the appeal fails, Mr Assange, under his bail conditions, will reside at a country estate in Suffolk until his next court appearance on January 11.
The estate is owned by Vaughan Smith, who runs the journalists' Frontline Club in London which the WikiLeaks founder previously has used as a base.
He says Mr Assange is more worried about being transferred to the US to face charges over the publication of secret documents than the rape allegations. "
Julian does not seem to fear the case against him by the Swedish court," Mr Smith told ABC Radio.
"What he fears is being then hauled off to America where he thinks he'll be thrown into a dark room and the key thrown away.
"That is certainly the fear that he's expressed to me on numerous occasions."
Mr Smith said he had considered the risk associated with letting Mr Assange - who some US figures want assassinated - stay under his roof while on bail.
"But we've got to make a stand somewhere." If released, Mr Assange will be subject to strict bail conditions including STG200,000 ($A318,623) in security up-front.
The WikiLeaks founder will also have to wear an electronic tag, report to police every evening and observe two four-hour curfews each day.
One of Mr Assange's lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, expects the High Court appeal to be held on Wednesday afternoon London time.
"The appeal must be held within 48 hours because the (lower court) judge has granted bail," she told ABC Radio.
"The appeal will be before a single judge in the High Court. "We suspect it will be tomorrow afternoon."
Hicks fears for Assange
Former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks says Assange will never receive a fair trial if he's handed over to US authorities.
Mr Hicks says he hopes the Australian government won't abandon Mr Assange, as they did with him.
He also says it's clear Mr Assange is the victim of a political-motivated campaign.
"We have already established that it's a political decision rather than a legal one. It's important that our governments are held to account for any war crimes they may be involved in and that is why the work of WikiLeaks is so important."
Mr Hicks said he was hopeful some of the documents being leaked might expose the political interference that tainted his case
"I will watch with interest in more leaks released because I have heard that they might contain information about my treatment in Guantanamo and the political interference in my case," he said.
"I just hope the Australian government doesn't abandon him like they did to me."
Mr Hicks, who pleaded guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism, was held at Guantanamo Bay for more than five years after being captured in Afghanistan in December 2001.
In March 2007, under a plea bargain, he was sentenced to seven years' jail but ordered to serve only nine months with the rest of his sentence suspended.
He returned to Australia and was released from Adelaide's Yatala Jail in December, 2007.
Share
