Britain and the Swedish government rejected a UN panel’s ruling on Friday that called for Julian Assange’s ‘detention’ at Ecuador’s embassy in London to be brought to an end, saying it would challenge the report’s findings.

‘This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention. The UK has already made clear to the UN that we will formally contest the working group’s opinion,’ the government said in a statement.

The Swedish government on Friday rejected the conclusions of a United Nations panel report saying Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s stay in Ecuador’s London embassy amounts to ‘unlawful detention’.

The Swedish government said that Assange had chosen, voluntarily, to stay at the Ecuadorian embassy where he has been since 2012.

‘Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay there. Mr. Assange is free to leave the Embassy at any point,’ the government said in a statement replying to the UN panel.

Assange, 44, took refuge at the embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations, which he denies, that he committed rape in 2010.