As the cliche goes, No Rest for the wicked! Malanding On 12/7/2010 12:02 PM, Haruna Darbo wrote: > LONDON (Dec. 7) -- Julian Assange has told a London court that he > intends to fight extradition to Sweden -- one of many legal, financial > and security challenges faced by the embattled WikiLeaks founder. > > The 39-year-old Australian was refused bail at the City of Westminster > Magistrates' Court, where he appeared soon after giving himself up at > a London police station this morning. Assange was asked by the judge > whether he understood that he could consent to be extradited to > Sweden, where he faces one count of rape, one of unlawful coercion and > two counts of sexual molestation. The freedom of information > campaigner, who denies all of the charges, responded, "I understand > that, and I do not consent," The Associated Press reported. > > It's not yet clear why Assange was declined bail, estimated at between > $160,000 and $320,000 by British daily The Guardian. However, > following WikiLeaks' release of hundreds of U.S. diplomatic cables -- > a leak known as Cablegate -- nine days ago, he has slowly been denied > access to his major sources of funding. > > Visa Europe today suspended transfers to WikiLeaks "pending further > investigation into the nature of its business and whether it > contravenes Visa operating rules." Swiss authorities on Monday froze > Assange's bank account, reported to contain about $41,000, after > claiming he had provided false personal information. MasterCard > blocked transfers to WikiLeaks Monday, saying the organization was > involved in "illegal activity," according to CNet News. And online > credit firm PayPal has refused to pass on donations to the > whistle-blowing site. > > A full hearing on Assange's extradition case is set for next week. If > the judge then finds that there is sufficient evidence to justify his > deportation, the extradition process can proceed. But, as the case of > British UFO hacker Gary McKinnon has shown, when a U.K.-based > defendant fights an extradition attempt, the case can drag on for > years. (McKinnon is wanted by the U.S. for allegedly accessing > Pentagon computers illegally.) > > Assange's British lawyer said his client was looking forward to > fighting the allegations in court. "It's about time we got to the end > of the day and we got some truth, justice and rule of law," Mark > Stephens told the BBC. "Julian Assange has been the one in hot pursuit > to vindicate himself to clear his good name." > > And a WikiLeaks spokesman today said the arrest will not stop the > organization from releasing more secret documents. "WikiLeaks is > operational. We are continuing on the same track as laid out before," > Kristinn Hrafnsson told Reuters. "Any development with regards to > Julian Assange will not change the plans we have with regards to the > releases today and in the coming days." > > Assange's legal woes relate to sex-crime allegations filed against him > this summer by two women he met in Sweden, which has a far broader > legal definition of rape than most Western nations do. The WikiLeaks > founder has admitted having consensual sex with the women, and > according to a recent AOL News story > <http://news.aol.ca/ca/article/sex-by-surprise-at-heart-of-assange-criminal-probe/19743210>, > the charges are connected with disagreements over condom use. Assange > believes that "personal issues" motivated the original allegations, > The Guardian reports, and that Sweden has subsequently behaved as a > "cipher" for the U.S. > > American Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- a longtime critic of the > WikiLeaks project -- was certainly pleased to be told of Assange's > arrest. "I haven't heard that, but it sounds like good news to me," he > said during a visit to Afghanistan today, according to NBC News. > > Stephens told the BBC this weekend that he was worried the attempt to > extradite his client to Sweden could be a precursor to moving him to > the U.S. > <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/andrew_marr_show/9258262.stm> > "It doesn't escape my attention that Sweden was one of those > lickspittle states which used its resources and its facilities for > rendition flights" by the U.S. to transport terrorism suspects around > the world for interrogation, he said. > > However, Sweden has rejected claims that it is seeking Assange's > extradition on political grounds. "This investigation has proceeded > perfectly normally without any political pressure of any kind," > Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny told Agence France-Presse this weekend. > "It is completely independent > <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jUIQj-jUsDX4I3QrdsITQ7c87BAQ?docId=CNG.8549d9b93537814e90de0a33a00a6b06.3b1>." > > > Assange and his lawyers have questioned that independence, noting that > Sweden's chief prosecutor dropped the charges in September. The case > was resurrected, Stephens claimed this weekend, only "after the > intervention of a Swedish politician." > > Although the sex crime allegations might be Assange's biggest worry at > the moment, he could soon face legal challenges from governments > troubled by WikiLeaks' recent release of diplomatic papers. U.S. > Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters on Monday that he had > authorized "a number of things to be done" to combat WikiLeaks' > activities. Asked if he might launch a prosecution under the Espionage > Act <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B53G720101206>, Holder > replied, "That is certainly something that might play a role, but > there are other statutes, other tools at our disposal." > > Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said her administration is > investigating filing charges against Assange. "Information would not > be on WikiLeaks if there had not been an illegal act undertaken," she > said this morning > <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/07/3086962.htm?section=justin>. > "The Australian Federal Police is going to provide the government with > some advice about potential criminal conduct of the individual > involved." However, many lawyers have criticized those comments, > saying there is no evidence that Assange has committed a crime in > Australia or even the U.S. > > Supporters of the WikiLeaks founder have now written an open letter to > the prime minister demanding she offer him protection. > > "First and foremost, Julian Assange is an Australian citizen who is > entitled to the protection of his country and does not deserve to be > betrayed by his country," one of the signatories, the prominent > Australian barrister Julian Burnside, told Australia's ABC network > <http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s3087254.htm>. "Julia Gillard > has been making it virtually impossible for Assange to return to > Australia, where he is entitled to be. And she has even threatened to > cancel his passport. That is an outrageous stance to take." > > Should Assange eventually find himself sentenced to a spell in the > slammer, or put on a plane to the U.S., he would still have one trump > card left to play. His lawyer Stephens noted this weekend that > thousands of Assange's supporters had downloaded a digital > "thermonuclear device > <http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/massive-release-of-raw-wikileaks-files-threatened-by-julian-assanges-lawyer/19747814>" > -- an encrypted computer file containing all of the papers WikiLeaks > has ever received, listing the names of spies, soldiers and sources. > > If the open-government activist is jailed, or if any harm comes to > him, the encryption code to that file would be released, unleashing a > flood of damaging documents. According to The Guardian > <http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-us-embassy-cables-live-updates>, > WikiLeaks currently has no plans to do that. > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact > the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤