The President of Mexico has expressed his solidarity with Julian Assange, saying he hopes the Australian WikiLeaks founder will soon be pardoned and freed

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said liberating Assange would be a "just cause".

Assange, 48, is in a British jail for skipping bail when he sought asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he spent nearly seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape that were dropped in November.

He is also battling US attempts to extradite him over Wikileaks' publication of vast caches of leaked military documents and diplomatic cables.

He faces a lengthy prison term if extradited to the US.

The full extradition hearing is due to begin in February and is expected to last up to four weeks.