1. I meant, why is the government pursuing any legal action against him, not why he's in custody vs house arrest.

2. Even the claim that he is a flight risk is disputed. Assange has not ran away or hid anywhere - neither while in Sweden nor in the UK. He asked for political asylum, which is not the same as flight. Not to mention the fact that Assange is in a poor condition, physically and mentally, after years of detention and months of harsh solitary confinement, and if anything, should be transferred to a civilian medical facility for treatment and recuperation.

The UK government are pursuing legal action against him because he is wanted in the US and the US government submitted an extradition request under the US-UK extradition treaty, and Assange is appealing it

... and journalists should be asking why is the UK government helping the US in trying to put a publisher like Assange on trial, rather than repealing the extradition request.