The Australian legal advisor of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called on the Federal Government to help him get a fair trial in Sweden following the British High Court's decision to extradite him to the Scandinavian country to face rape charges.

Geoffrey Robertson QC made the call Wednesday as he warned that Assange faces detention and unfair trial in Sweden, where the law provides no bail for accused foreigners and secret trials for sexual assault cases.

In an interview on ABC's Lateline program , Robertson said Canberra has a duty to help Australians in peril in foreign courts.
"They don't have a jury, they have a judge and two retired hack politicians, one from each party ... and both parties have been critical of him. It's hardly a fair trial," the Sydney-born lawyer now based in the U.K. said, according to ABC.net.au.

Robertson said he expects Assange to be detained at the Gothenburg prison, which has been condemned by the European Commission on Torture for maltreatment of foreign prisoners.

Assange, 40, lost his appeal against extradition to Sweden on Wednesday when the High Court in London rejected his claims that the extradition is unfair and unlawful.

Appeal Judges John Thomas and Duncan Ousely ruled that the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant against Assange was not disproportionate because the case involved is not a trivial but serious offense.

Assange has 14 days to appeal the ruling before the British Supreme Court. If the appeal is rejected, he may be extradited to Sweden within 10 days. If the appeal is granted, he is expected to stay longer in London.

Assange is living in a supporter's home in the U.K. while his extradition trial continues.