LONDON — Julian Assange will be freed on bail and sent to stay at a British country mansion, a U.K. judge ruled today, rejecting prosecutors’ attempts to keep the WikiLeaks founder in prison as he fights extradition to Sweden.

Cheers erupted from supporters outside the London court as the verdict by High Court justice Duncan Ouseley was reported.

Assange’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, said he was “utterly delighted” with the judge’s ruling, which included an order that prosecutors pay his client’s court costs.

Prosecutors had argued there was a risk the 39-year-old Australian, who faces sex-crimes allegations in Sweden, would abscond if he was freed. But Ouseley said if Assange fled “he would diminish himself in the eyes of many of his supporters” — and make famous backers like filmmaker Michael Moore look foolish.

“I don’t accept that Mr. Assange has an incentive not to attend (court),” Ouseley said. “He clearly does have some desire to clear his name.”

Assange, dressed in a dark gray suit, smiled and gave a thumb’s up sign to a packed courtroom as he was led from the dock by guards. It was not immediately clear how long it would take before he was released.