<p><br /> WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's extradition unit.<br /> </p><p><br /> The 39-year-old Australian was held when he attended a central London police station by appointment.<br /> </p><p><br /> He is now expected to appear before a district judge at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later today.<br /> </p><p><br /> A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit have this morning arrested Julian Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape.<br /> </p><p><br /> "Julian Assange, 39, was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant by appointment at a London police station at 9.30am.<br /> </p><p><br /> "He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010."<br /> </p><p><br /> Sweden's prosecution authority said it had given British police all the information they requested, after a series of apparent legal hitches.<br /> </p><p><br /> British media had reported that Assange was in Britain after WikiLeaks released a trove of cables exposing the inner workings of American diplomacy.<br /> </p><p><br /> Assange's legal team has said it will mount a challenge in the British courts to any Swedish attempt to have him arrested and sent to Sweden.<br /> </p>
