Julian Assange could face espionage trial in the US, the Independent UK reports on December 8, 2010. The WikiLeaks founder was arrested on December, 7 in north London and was consequently refused bail at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Assange’s defence lawyer, Mark Stephens, says the sexual assault allegations against his client are part of a conspiracy.
Julian Assange dismissed the allegations made against him in Sweden and vowed to fight against extradition. Hinting at a conspiracy, Assange’s lawyer described the accusations as a “political stunt” and talked to the BBC about “political motivations that appear to be behind this.” Assange’s extradition to Sweden would be the first step toward a US-based espionage trial.
Assange Arrested
Julian Assange was arrested by appointment at 0930 GMT at a London police station on December, 7 2010. WikiLeaks appealed to its supporters to make up Assange’s bail in the days before his arrest. Journalist John Pilger, film director Ken Loach and sister of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, Jemima Khan offered to put up sureties. However, this proved to be unnecessary. The City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court refused Julian Assange bail because of the risk of him fleeing.
Assange is charged for acts that constitute sexual assault committed in Sweden in August 2010. Downing Street washed its hands regarding the WikiLeaks boss arrest – it was “a matter for the police”, the PM’s spokesman said, there had been no ministerial involvement. The prosecutors in Sweden were also quick to insist that they have been under no pressure whatsoever, political or otherwise. For Julian Assange to avoid extradition he would have to show that his arrest is politically motivated. A full hearing is not expected to take place for some weeks.
Conspiracy Against WikiLeaks
The Guardian commentator posting on the News blog at 11:30 on December, 8 said that he could not find any evidence “either that the US are orchestrating this, or that the Swedes are doing anything other than trying to investigate serious allegations.” However, many have talked or hinted at a conspiracy against WikiLeaks. The Daily Mail’s Richard Pendlebury says there are “several puzzling flaws in the prosecution's case.” Feminist lawyer, Lindsay Beyerstein, thinks it is curious that “charges against Assange were brought, dropped almost immediately and later reinstated.”
The conspiracy theories surrounding the case of WikiLeaks focus also around Amazon’s forcing WikiLeaks offline, under pressure from US authorities. Senator Joe Lieberman who had congratulated Amazon on this decision stressed that he was not in any way involved in it.
In the meantime, cyber attacks for and against WikiLeaks continue unabated.
Who needs espionage intelligence when there is WikiLeaks?
WikiLeaks Forced Offline by Amazon and EveryDNS.
Julian Assange Released on Bail: Justice is not dead yet.
WikiLeaks and Historians: US Embassy Cables as Primary Sources
Lito Apostolakou - Lito is a historian with an interest in digital archives and online historical resources. She is the author of blog Palimpsest.
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