Sweden to appeal Assange bail

LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will have to stay in prison after lawyers acting for Sweden said on Tuesday they would challenge bail granted earlier by a London court.

Lawyer Gemma Lindfield told City of Westminster Magistrates' Court that Swedish prosecutors intended to challenge a bail order issued earlier in the day.

The appeal hearing is expected to take place within 48 hours.

In a chaotic 30 minutes outside the court, Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens had earlier wrongly told reporters that Sweden would not appeal the granting of bail for the Australian who founded the whistleblowing website.

Assange, 39, is wanted in Sweden over claims he sexually assaulted two women -- claims that his lawyer Geoffrey Robertson described in court as "not serious".

A judge had earlier granted Assange conditional bail -- only for him to be told two hours later that he must remain behind bars in Wandsworth prison pending the appeal.