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Indictment and arrest of Julian Assange

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Philip Cross (talk | contribs) at 11:17, 13 April 2019 (→Reactions to his arrest: the "on the other hand" construction is advised against on WP policy pages). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 11:17, 13 April 2019 by Philip Cross (talk | contribs) (→Reactions to his arrest: the "on the other hand" construction is advised against on WP policy pages)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) The arrest of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange on 11 April 2019

Julian Assange
Assange in 2014
BornJulian Paul Hawkins
(1971-07-03) 3 July 1971 (age 53)
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Editor
  • programmer
  • politician
Years active1987–present
Known forFounding WikiLeaks
TitleDirector and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks
Political party
Criminal statusConvicted of failure to surrender to the court
Under arrest by the Metropolitan Police Service in London under extradition to the United States
Spouse Teresa Doe ​ ​(m. 1989; div. 1999)​
Partner(s)Sarah Harrison
(esp. 2009; sep. 2012)
Children4

Julian Assange was investigated by the Eastern District of Virginia grand jury for several espionage and computer-related crimes committed in the U.S. in 2012. Subsequently, an indictment was issued. The indictment was sealed and initially denied by the government. Attempts to arrest him were foiled when he successfully sought asylum in Ecuador in 2012 while in London. His request was granted and he remained a resident in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012. The indictments remained sealed even when it was requested that it be made public during another trial in 2016. However, in 2019, the indictments were made public, following the termination of his asylum status and the subsequent arrest by the Metropolitan Police of UK in London. According to the indictment, Assange was accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in order to help Chelsea Manning gain access to privileged information which he intended to publish on Wikileaks. This is a relatively less serious charge in comparison to the charges that were leveled against Manning, and it carries a maximum sentence of five years with a possibility of parole.

Assange was arrested on 10 April 2019 by the London Metropolitan Police for failing to appear in court and now faces extradition to the US. His arrest caught media attention and the news of it went viral on social media, especially on Twitter and Facebook as it involved the possibility that the founder of Wikileaks and its editor-in-chief would be brought back to the US to face trial. Since his arrest, public opinion on social media has been divided as to whether he should be extradited to face charges. On one hand, it has been argued that his extradition to the US and subsequent trial is a necessary process as he broke the law by attempting to hack secured government files and publishing sensitive material about US government operations. On the other hand, it is argued that such a move would be a threat to freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment.

Background

Publication of material from Manning

Assange and some of his friends founded Wikileaks in 2006 and started visiting Europe, Asia, Africa and North America to look for, and publish, secret information concerning companies and governments that they felt should be made public. Much of the materials published by Wikileaks between 2006 and 2009 gained media attention and established Assange as a whistleblower. However, these leaks attracted little interest from law enforcement.

In 2010, Assange was contacted by Chelsea Manning, who gave him classified information containing various military operations conducted by the US government abroad. The material included the Baghdad airstrike of 2007, Granai Airstrike of 2009, the Iraq War Logs, Afghan War Diaries, and the Afghan War Logs, among others. Part of these documents were published by Wikileaks and leaked to other major media houses including The Guardian between 2010 and 2011.

The release of the material by Wikileaks was considered both illegal and heroic. Critics included Julia Gillard, then Australian Prime Minister, who said the act was illegal, and the Vice-President of the United States, Joe Biden, who called him a terrorist. Others, including, the Brazilian President, Luiz da Silva and the Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa supported his actions, while the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he deserved a Nobel prize for his actions. The Manning leaks also led Wikileaks and Julian Assange to receive various accolades and awards, but at the same time attracted police investigations.

Criminal Investigation and indictment

Following the 2010 and 2011 Manning leaks, authorities in the US began investigating Assange and Wikileaks. Specifically, the investigations were being done by the Grand Jury in Alexandria, Virginia as of November 2011, and by 2012, a leaked email surfaced, which suggested that there was a sealed indictment on Assange, the existence of which the US government denied. Assange broke bail to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning, and became a fugitive. The Australian government, which distanced itself from Assange.

He then sought and gained political asylum from Ecuador, granted by Rafael Correa, after visiting the country's embassy in London.

At the same time, an independent investigation by the FBI was going on regarding Assange's release of the Manning documents, and according to court documents dated May 2014, he was still under active and ongoing investigation. A warrant issued to Google by the district court cited several crimes, including espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage, theft or conversion of property belonging to the United States government, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and general conspiracy. In 2017, it was confirmed that the US government was preparing to formally bring criminal charges against Assange, and by 2018, the existence of these charges were confirmed accidentally. However, the indictment continued to remain sealed as of January 2019, although investigations seemed to have intensified as the case neared its statue of limitations.

Beginning of the end of asylum

In 2017, Ecuador had a general election and new officials entered the government with a view to terminate the asylum status granted to Assange and hand him over to London's Metropolitan Police. Among other reasons, they argued that the cost of keeping Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy was becoming too expensive. In 2018, it was reported that a total of $5 million had been spent in the five years of his stay, most of which was spent on secret intelligence, undercover agents, and international security. He was also accused of compromising the communication system of the Embassy by setting up his own internet access point. Following his election as president, Lenín Moreno said in 2018 that he wanted Assange out of the Embassy, a move some perceived as aimed at improving the foreign relations between Ecuador and the US. Pressure continued to mount when US Foreign Affairs refused to send USAID to Ecuador and limited further economic cooperation between the two countries until Assange was handed over to the UK authorities.

On April 6 2019, Assange was suspected of having been behind leaked photos that linked president Moreno to an INA Papers corruption scandal in Ecuador, which Wikileaks denied.

Arrest by the Metropolitan Police

The Ambassador of Ecuador to the UK invited the Metropolitan Police to the embassy to arrest Assange on 11 April 2019. Following this invitation, Assange was arrested and taken to a central London police station. The news of the arrest went viral on Twitter and Facebook within minutes of its happening and several media outlets reported it as breaking news. President Moreno is quoted to have referred to Assange as a "spoiled brat" in the wake of the arrest.

Assange was arrested in relation to his indictment in Sweden. Specifically, he was arrested for failing to appear in the UK court, which wanted to extradite him to Sweden to answer to sexual charges which were filed against him in 2012. Within hours of his arrest, he was found guilty of breaching the terms of his bail and, if extradited to the United States, faces up to five years in prison.

Reactions to his arrest

Opinions are divided on the question of the arrest of Assange. Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, U.S. Senator Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton campaign advisor Neera Tanden, and British Prime Minister Theresa May, who commented that "no one is above the law," are in support of the arrest. Alternatively, it is has been asserted that such a move would be a threat to freedom of speech as protected by the first amendment to the US Constitution. This view is held by Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg, Rafael Correa, Chelsea Manning, Jeremy Corbyn, Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch, and Glenn Greenwald, who said "it's the criminalization of journalism".

Ecuadorean president Lenín Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter that he "requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty. The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules."

According to Amnesty International's Massimo Moratti, if extradited to the United States, Assange would face the "risk of serious human rights violations, namely detention conditions, which could violate the prohibition of torture".

Aftermath of his arrest

Indictments and possible extradition to the US

Immediately following the arrest of Assange, the Eastern District of Virginia grand jury unsealed the indictment it had brought against him. According to the indictment, Assange was accused of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in order to help Chelsea Manning gain access to privileged information which he intended to publish on WikiLeaks. This is a less serious charge than those leveled against Manning, and carries a maximum sentence of five years with a possibility of parole.

Protests in the US

Following Assange's arrest, protesters organized and gathered in Washington, D.C. to rally against what they considered to be a violation of fundamental rights. The protesters argued that arresting Assange and attempting to return him to the U.S. to face charges related to his WikiLeaks publications threatened freedom of the press. At the same time, they protested against what the considered to be unlawful detainment of Manning. The protests happened outside the British Embassy. More protests were organized in other cities within the U.S., including New York City, San Francisco, Berlin, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Seattle.

Protests outside the US

Several groups have emerged which are planning to organize international protests for the release of Assange. As of 13 April 2019, they included Green Party, Popular Resistance and Mint Press. Some of the countries in which the protests are being organized include Australia, United Kingsom and Sweden. WikiLeaks also made requests for people to donate money to support the efforts of the organization and the defense of Assange in the wake of the developing story. WikiLeaks tweeted a link to its donation page.

URGENT: Julian Assange has been arrested by UK police. DONATE:

WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 11, 2019

In a longer position its page, WikiLeaks shared the image of the indictment and asked supporters to donate, sign a petition or contact support so that it could fight against a U.S. extradition. According to The Block Crypto, donations in bitcoins increased sharply as WikiLeaks received 40 out of its 161 bitcoin donations within hours after making the announcement.

See also

References

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