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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/08/3087467.htm


Assange vows to fight extradition

By Europe correspondent Emma Alberici, staff

Updated 10 hours 15 minutes ago

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been remanded in custody by a British court over allegations of sex crimes in Sweden.

Swedish authorities want to question Mr Assange about claims of sexua| offences, including one count of rape, allegedly committed in August this year.

Appearing in the Westminster Magistrates Court overnight just hours after handing himself in to British police, Mr Assange spoke only to confirm his name and address and to say that he did not consent to be returned to Sweden.

In court to support him were film-maker and journalist John Pilger, socialite Jemima Khan and film director Ken Loach. Each offered $32,000 as surety.

Senior District Court Judge Howard Riddle remanded Mr Assange in custody until December 14, when the extradition hearing will begin.

The judge said: "There are substantial grounds to believe he could abscond if granted bail".

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says the Australian consul-general in London is prepared to offer consular visits and other support to Mr Assange, who provided a Victorian address to the court.

As he faces what could be a lengthy extradition to Sweden, Mr Assange defended his website's release of secret cables and hit out at the Australian Government for failing to protect one of its citizens.

In an opinion piece published in The Australian newspaper just hours after his arrest, he said Prime Minister Julia Gillard had not responded to threats against him.

"The Gillard government is trying to shoot the messenger because it doesn't want the truth revealed, including information about its own diplomatic and political dealings," he wrote.

"Has there been any response from the Australian government to the numerous public threats of violence against me and other WikiLeaks personnel?

"One might have thought an Australian prime minister would be defending her citizens against such things, but there have only been wholly unsubstantiated claims of illegality.

"The Prime Minister and especially the Attorney-General are meant to carry out their duties with dignity and above the fray. Rest assured, these two mean to save their own skins. They will not."

Mr Assange says WikiLeaks has been unfairly targeted because it only has a short publishing history.

'Political interference'

Mr Assange's British lawyer, Mark Stephens, says he will fight against extradition.

"I am very, very concerned about the political interference that there appears to have been in this case," he said.

"There are things that are going on and I think that we're not seeing the whole picture yet."

But the Swedish prosecutor who brought the sexua| misconduct case against Mr Assange said it was a personal matter and not connected with his work releasing secret US diplomatic cables.

"I want to make it clear that I have not been put under any kind of pressure, political or otherwise," Marianne Ny, a director of prosecution, said in a statement.

"Swedish prosecutors are completely independent in their decision-making.

"The criminal investigation has nothing to do with WikiLeaks. It concerns him personally.

"There are no foreign authorities which have asked to be informed. Only journalists and private people have sought information."

US Republican congressman Pete King, the incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for Mr Assange to be extradited to the US.

"Sweden is obviously a democracy and they have the right to pursue whatever legal acts they have against Assange," he said.

"But ultimately, and really sooner rather than later, I think it's important that he be extradited from whatever country he's in to the United States because his conduct to me clearly violates the US Espionage Act.

"It's putting American lives at risk throughout the world. Clearly what he's done is wrong and he has to be punished."

Cool in court

Mr Assange appeared calm and confident as he walked into the glass-walled dock of a packed London courtroom and showed little surprise at the media storm sparked by his arrest.

Wearing a dark blue suit and open-necked white shirt, the 39-year-old founder of whistleblowing site WikiLeaks coolly surveyed the journalists packing Court One of Westminster Magistrates Court and even waved at a few.

His court appearance was the first since WikiLeaks began releasing 250,000 secret US embassy cables 10 days ago, causing a global diplomatic storm.

Mr Assange was escorted into the dock of the courtroom by security guards and took his seat.

He spoke when asked to confirm his name and his birthday - July 3, 1971.

But it was not long before he deviated from the script, and when District Judge Howard Riddle asked him for his address, he responded: "For your correspondence or for other reasons?"

When pressed, he gave a Post Office box number in Australia, prompting consternation among court officials who believed this insufficient.

Mr Assange's defence lawyer had a quiet word with his client through the glass screen and then handed a piece of paper with an address on it to the judge, who read out an address in Victoria.

Amid further confusion, it was agreed that police had been given a British address for Mr Assange, where he had been staying for the past three weeks, but it was decided it would not be read out in court for his own safety.

Pilger offers bail

Mr Assange's lawyer and the judge insisted the assault case had nothing to do with WikiLeaks and should be judged on its own merits.

But the huge media presence underscored the global interest in the case, as did the appearance in court of Pilger, Loach and Jemima Khan.

They each offered 20,000 pounds ($32,000) surety for his bail, despite Ms Khan and Loach admitting they did not know him personally.

"I know him by reputation," Loach told the court, adding about WikiLeaks: "I think we are entitled to know the dealings of those who govern us."

Pilger said he knew Mr Assange personally "and I have a very high regard for him".

"I'm here today because the charges (allegations) against him in Sweden are absurd."

He dismissed the Swedish prosecution as a "travesty".

Mr Assange watched the judge closely as he delivered his verdict but showed little emotion, maintaining his straight back and calm expression before being escorted out of the courtroom.

As a white police van containing the suspect drove off from the court, it was mobbed by crowds of waiting photographers and a handful of supporters who shouted his name and held up signs saying a "travesty of justice".
 

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