WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail at a court hearing following his arrest in the U.K. early Tuesday on an international warrant related to sexual-assault allegations in Sweden.

A judge at London 's Westminster Magistrates' Court ordered Assange remanded into custody until December 14.

Bail was denied Assange despite offers from several individuals--including film maker Ken Loach; English socialite Jemima Khan; and documentary-film maker John Pilger--to post GBP 20,000 each for his bail.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

Assange's jailing comes as WikiLeaks faces mounting problems on several fronts. It is under heavy pressure from the U.S. government over its leaking of thousands of classified U.S. documents. Assange's ability to publish and raise money has come under attack, as corporate partners of WikiLeaks, such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), have stopped providing Internet-support services.

During the hearing, the murky allegations against Assange--which involve two women with whom he had sexual relations in Sweden over the summer--came into sharper view.

As read in court, one of the women's allegation is that Assange forcibly held her arms and legs, preventing her from moving, and had sexual intercourse with her without using a condom, despite knowing it was a prerequisite for her. The other women alleges that Assange had sex with her while she was asleep, again failing to wear a condom despite knowing she required it.

Assange, in a dark suit and white shirt, remained stoic throughout the hearing.

Leaving the courtroom, Loach, the film director, said he appeared on behalf of Assange because it was "a public service." He added that it was a "bizarre coincidence" that the sex allegations arose as Assange was providing "important information" about the way governments operate.

London 's Metropolitan Police said Assange appeared by appointment at a London police station at 9:30 a.m. local time Tuesday to surrender himself. Early in the afternoon, he arrived at the court in a black sedan that was swamped by photographers before disappearing into a garage.

Assange's attorney, Mark Stephens, arrived a short time later, saying only that the WikiLeaks' founder was in "good spirits" and his interaction with police had been "cordial."

Tuesday's hearing sets up a battle over extraditions, which Assange has vowed to fight. Stephens has said he plans to fight the validity of the Swedish arrest warrant in court. The U.K. is known for carefully scrutinizing extradition requests and, in some high-profile cases, has rejected these requests and refused to extradite people.

The transfer of Assange to Sweden from the U.K. could take up to 90 days, National Criminal Police in Sweden said Tuesday. "The first question is if Assange agrees to extradition," Superintendent Tommy Kangasvieri said in an interview. "If he does, Swedish authorities have 10 days to bring him to Sweden . However, if Assange decides to question the extradition, the case will be decided by British courts. This process can take up to 90 days, according to the European arrest warrant."

WikiLeaks strove for a business-as-usual tone. In a message posted on its Twitter feed, WikiLeaks said the arrest "won't affect our operations: we will release more cables tonight as normal."

Assange's arrest is unrelated to his document-leaking activities, and neither he nor WikiLeaks has been charged with a crime in the U.S. But soon after he was taken into custody, U.S. officials indicated they weren't displeased to see him apprehended. "That sounds like good news to me," said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to reporters in eastern Afghanistan .

The arrest marks the latest twist in a convulsive saga that has unfolded around Assange in recent months.

Assange and his document-leaking website, WikiLeaks, have faced intense pressure in recent months after publishing classified U.S. government documents that Washington has characterized as "stolen." In recent days, WikiLeaks' providers' of Internet services--including Amazon and eBay Inc.'s (EBAY) PayPal--have systematically have cut ties with WikiLeaks. On Monday, Assange's Swiss bank account was frozen because he allegedly provided a false address.

Amid all of that, Assange over the summer became embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden . There, Assange met and had sexual relations with two women who later complained about him to the police, prompting prosecutors to open an investigation. That resulted in accusations of rape in one case and sexual molestation in the other. Assange hasn't been formally charged.

Stephens, the attorney for Assange, said in an earlier interview that the rape allegation appeared to arise days after he engaged in "consensual, but unprotected sex" with one of the women. He added that it was "only after the women became aware of each other's relationships with Assange did they make allegations against him."

Facing both international pressure and legal scrutiny from Sweden , Assange has hopped from country to country in recent months, his precise whereabouts rarely clear. In recent weeks, it was widely believed that he was in the U.K. , where his attorney had confirmed his presence in late November.

As Assange laid low, an international legal process slowly ratcheted up pressure to detain him for questioning.

A Swedish court issued an order for Assange's arrest on Nov. 18, at the request of Swedish prosecutors. On Nov. 20, Interpol issued an "international wanted-persons alert" on Assange in Interpol's 188 member countries world-wide, at the request of Swedish authorities. The alert isn't a warrant, but Interpol said that many countries consider it "a valid request for provisional arrest."

Assange has called the Swedish case an attempt to smear him for his WikiLeaks work, a claim Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny denied last week.

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