WikiLeaks founder fights extradition
February 2nd, 2012Julian Assange heads to UK court in bid to block his extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sex crimes – Published on Al Jazeera, , February 1, 2012. – [The video which Bradley Manning released to wikileaks, the reason for his imprisonnement: short version 1.41 min, long version 39.14 min)].
… He was detained in Britain in December 2010 on a European arrest warrant issued by a Swedish prosecutor after two female former WikiLeaks volunteers accused him of sexual assault. His lawyers have argued that the warrant is invalid because it was issued by a prosecutor rather than a neutral judge or court.
A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse, braving a freezing morning to show support for Assange, who looked relaxed in a dark grey suit and purple tie as he entered court … //
… Assange gained recognition and infuriated the US government in 2010 when WikiLeaks released secret video footage and thousands of US diplomatic cables about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Denies any wrongdoing:
His arrest came shortly after WikiLeaks published the secret diplomatic cables that included unflattering views of world leaders and candid assessments of security threats.
Assange says the allegations are politically motivated, and that US authorities are looking for a way to go after him in retaliation for WikiLeaks’ revelations.
Washington is divided over Assange, with some officials calling for tough action against him to deter would-be leakers. Others argue that a prosecution would be legally problematic and would give him a boost when he appears headed for irrelevance.
Bradley Manning, a US army intelligence analyst suspected of passing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, is facing a court-martial on 22 charges including aiding the enemy and wrongfully causing intelligence to be published online.
US army investigators in December presented what they said was evidence for the first time in directly linking Manning to Assange.
The investigators told a US military hearing at an army base in Maryland that contact information for Assange was found on a computer hard drive belonging to Manning.
Assange has consistently denied knowing the source of the material received by his site but has expressed support for Manning. (full text).
Links:
Julian Assange starts Wikileaks TV show;
MILITARY JUSTICE: The Bradley Manning Article 32 Hearing;
European Court of Human Rights: articles on Al Jazeera, explained on en.wikipedia.