A United Nations human rights panel says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been "arbitrarily detained" by Britain and Sweden since December 2010.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said Assange's "detention" should end and he should be entitled to compensation.
Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange over allegations of rape stemming from a working visit he made to the country in 2010 when WikiLeaks was attracting international attention for its trove of leaked documents.
Assange has consistently denied the allegations but declined to return to Sweden to meet prosecutors and eventually sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has lived since June 2012.
"The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention," said Seong-Phil Hong, who currently heads the UN's expert panel.
“The Working Group maintains that the arbitrary detention of Mr Assange should be brought to an end, that his physical integrity and freedom of movement be respected, and that he should be entitled to an enforceable right to compensation."
The finding in Assange's favour is not legally binding, but will represent a public relations victory for the 44-year-old Australian.
It could also increase pressure on Swedish prosecutors to drop their bid to question Assange about allegations of sexual misconduct, and on British officials to alter plans to arrest Assange for jumping bail.
Assange is expected to give a press conference later on Friday.
Swedish officials have not yet commented on their plans, and British police said plans to arrest Assange if he leaves the Ecuadorean embassy in London remain unchanged.
However, Geoffrey Robertson QC, a former UN appeals judge and international lawyer, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that a UN ruling would be "binding in honour".
Assange has been in the embassy for more than three years. His organisation WikiLeaks was responsible for publishing millions of documents considered classified by the US government.
(Al Jazeera)
