Julian Paul Assange (DOB July 03, 1971) is an Australian editor, activist, publisher and journalist.He is best known as the editor-in-chief and founder of Wikileaks, a media website which has published information from Whisleblowers(a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities/misconduct occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company) The site acts as a conduit for worldwide news leaks , with a stated purpose of creating open governance.
WikiLeaks was founded in 2006.Though an Australian citizen, Assange has not lived in Australia since he left after starting to work on WikiLeaks. In 2007 Assange moved to Nairobi, Kenya, he then also spent time in Tanzania, stayed in Cairo, Egypt for a week, Paris, France and Wiesbaden, Germany for two months at the end of 2008.
On Aug 20,2010,Swedish Police began an investigation into allegations concerning Assange's behaviour in separate sexual encounters involving two different women.Julian Assange has described all the sexual encounters as consensual and statements by the plaintiffs confirm that the encounters at least started as such.The arrest warrant was canceled on 21 August 2010 by one of Stockholm's Chief Prosecutors, Eva Finne, and the investigation was downgraded to only cover one of the lesser allegations.
On Nov 28, 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing some of the 251,000 American Diplomatic Cables in their possession, of which over 53% are listed as Unclassified, 40 % are 'confidential' and just over 6% are classified "Secret". The following day, the Attorney-General of Australia,Robert McClelland told the press that Australia would inquire into Assange's activities and WikiLeaks.
The United States Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation related to the leak.
On Dec 06, 2010, the Swiss Bank PostFinance announced that it had frozen assets of Assange's totalling 31,000 euros, because he had "provided false information regarding his place of residence" when opening the account.
Allegations of Sexual Assault
Julian Assange, then in Britain, learned that the Swedish authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to extradite him to Sweden for questioning. Assange voluntarily attended a police station in England on Dec 07,2010, and was arrested and taken into custody. After10 days in Wandsworth Prison.
Julian Assange was freed on bail with a residence requirement at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk, England, fitted with an electronic tag and ordered to report to police daily.
The EAW contained 4 complaints from 2 different women that -
on Aug 14,2010 he committed "unlawful coercion" when he held plaintiff 1 down with his body weight in a sexual manner; that he ''sexually molested'' plaintiff 1 when he had condom-less sex with her after she insisted that he use one; that he had condom-less sex with plaintiff 2 on the morning of Aug 17,2010while she was asleep; and that he "deliberately molested" plaintiff 1 on Aug 18, 2010 by pressing his erect penis against her body
Extradition Trial
An extradition hearing took place on Feb 7,8 and 11, 2011 before the City of Westminister Magistrate's Court. On Feb 24,2011, the court upheld the extradition warrant.
On March 02,2011, Julian Assange's lawyers lodged papers at the High Court challenging the ruling to extradite Assange to Sweden, saying the allegations were "without basis".
After a hearing on July 12 and 13, 2011, the High Court reserved its judgement.
On Nov 02, 2011 the High Court upheld the extradition decision and rejected all four grounds of appeal presented by Julian Assange's legal representatives. Costs of £19,000 were also awarded against Julian Assange.
On Dec 05, 2011, Assange's lawyers were granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, after the High Court certified that a point of law of general public importance, that ought to be considered by the Supreme Court, was involved in its decision.
The Supreme Court heard argument in the appeal on Feb 1 and 2, 2012 and reserved its judgment,while Julian Assange remained on conditional bail.
On May 30,2012 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by a majority of 5–2.
Barring any appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, extradition had been expected to take place over a ten day period commencing on June 28, 2012.
Support/Criticism for Julian Assange
Australian PM Julia Gilard claimed that Assange's actions were "illegal", which was later retracted when an Australian Federal Police commission determined he had not broken any Australian laws. They also found no grounds to withdraw his Australian passport after an investigation by the Australian Federal Police.
Prominent public figures from outside the US and Australia that have repeatedly voiced independent support for Assange (in the context of his fight against extradition and possible US prosecution.
Vladimir Putin,then Russian PM condemned Assange's detention as "undemocratic". A source within the office of Russian President, suggested that Assange be nominated for a Nobel Prize and said that "Public and non-governmental organisations should think of how to help him
Awards Received by Julian Assange
- 2009Amnesty International Media Award for exposing extrajudicial assassinations in Kenya by distributing and publicizing the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights(KNCHR)'s investigation Kenya: The Cry of Blood – Extra Judicial Killings and Disappearances.
- TIME Magazine's 2010 Person of the Year
- 2011 Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal for his "exceptional courage and initiative in pursuit of human rights."
- 2011 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. The prize is awarded on an annual basis to journalists "whose work has penetrated the established version of events and told an unpalatable truth that exposes establishment propaganda, or 'official drivel'". The judges said, "WikiLeaks has been portrayed as a phenomenon of the hi-tech age, which it is. But it's much more. Its goal of justice through transparency is in the oldest and finest tradition of journalism."
Police and media gather outside the Ecuador embassy in west London. Ecuador has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assangea day after the British government threatened to storm the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest the former hacker
A supporter of Julian Assange stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy awaiting the Ecuadorian decision to grant Australian journalist and founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange Asylum, in London
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