Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free and be compensated for his "deprivation of liberty", a UN legal panel has found.
Mr Assange, 44, - who faces extradition to Sweden over a rape claim, which he denies - claimed asylum in London's Ecuadorean embassy in 2012.
He has been arbitrarily detained since his arrest in 2010, the panel said.
The UK Foreign Office said the report "changes nothing" and it will "formally contest the working group's opinion".
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the panel's opinion was "ridiculous" and Mr Assange was a "fugitive from justice". The Met Police said it will make "every effort" to arrest Mr Assange should he leave the embassy.
The panel's ruling is not legally binding in the UK and a European Arrest Warrant remains in place - meaning the UK continues to have a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange.
The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention insisted Mr Assange's detention "should be brought to an end, that his physical integrity and freedom of movement be respected".
"Mr Assange should be afforded the right to compensation," it added.
The Wikileaks founder had been subjected to "different forms of deprivation of liberty" it said, initially while he was held in isolation at London's Wandsworth Prison for 10 days in 2010.
The deprivation had been "continuous" since he was first arrested in the UK on 7 December 2010.
'Lack of diligence'
The panel said he had then been under "house arrest and then confinement" while inside the Ecuadorian embassy.
It also found a "lack of diligence" by the Swedish Prosecutor's Office in its investigations, which resulted in his lengthy loss of liberty.
Three members of the five person panel found in Mr Assange's favour, while one rejected his claim and another did not take part in the investigation.
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