http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/julian-assange-says-his-detention-in-the-uk-is-hampering-the-work-of-wikileaks/story-fn775xjq-1226076896925
Julian Assange says his detention in the UK is hampering the work of WikiLeaks From: AP June 17, 2011 9:33AM WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wearing an ankle ankle security tag at the property in England where he is under virtual house arrest. Picture: AP Source: AP AFTER six months under virtual house arrest, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has acknowledged that his detention is hampering the work of the secret-spilling site. His supporters have also accused Britain of subjecting him to "excessive and dehumanising" treatment. The 39-year-old Australian is living at a supporter's rural estate as he fights extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over claims of rape and sexual molestation made by two women. Mr Assange's bail conditions require him to observe an overnight curfew, wear an electronic tag and report to police daily. His supporters released a video to The Associated Press condemning the conditions. In it, WikiLeaks associate Sarah Harrison accuses authorities of treating Mr Assange "like a caged animal." British prosecutors, who initially opposed bail, say the strict conditions are necessary because the claims against Mr Assange are serious and he is a flight risk. The video also claims police have set up surveillance cameras near the house to record licence plates of visiting cars. Vaughan Smith, who owns the 240-hectare property in eastern England, called it a "pretty intrusive regime" and said three cameras had appeared near the property since Mr Assange came to stay. Mr Assange, who roamed the globe before his arrest in December, said he had become "a fixed target" for snoopers. "It is easy to conduct surveillance against me and anyone I talk to," Mr Assange said. "We take steps against this, but it is costly and time-consuming." He said his house arrest had been "the single largest impediment to our work, with the possible exception of the illegal blockade being conducted by the major US financial institutions against us." Some US-based banks and financial services have refused to handle payments to WikiLeaks. US authorities are investigating whether Mr Assange and WikiLeaks violated American laws by releasing tens of thousands of secret government documents, including daily logs from the Iraq war and classified diplomatic cables from US missions around the world. Prosecutors have convened a grand jury near Washington to probe the WikiLeaks disclosures. "A lot of our resources are tied up in dealing with the situation in the United States and the grand jury and this Swedish extradition case and the banking blockade placed on us by Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America and so on," Mr Assange said. "So, while we are still producing publications every day, a lot of those resources have been taken away to deal with these events." On July 12, the High Court in London will hear Mr Assange's appeal against a judge's order that he be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual molestation against two women. Mr Assange denies the charges, which he claims are politically motivated. He said that if he lost the appeal, he could go to Britain's Supreme Court or the European Court of Human Rights. He said he was confident he would be cleared. "I feel that the Swedish authorities will drop the case," Mr Assange said. When asked why, he replied only that "there are many players in the Swedish situation." Swedish prosecutors did not immediately return calls seeking comment. AP ++++++ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/wikileaks-supporter-refuses-to-testify-to-us-grand-jury-hearing-into-leaks/story-fn775xjq-1226076209454 WikiLeaks supporter refuses to testify to US grand jury hearing into leaks From: AP June 16, 2011 9:57AM A SUPPORTER of the US army private suspected of supplying classified documents to the WikiLeaks website has refused to testify to a federal grand jury, accusing the US government of a witch-hunt. David House, a founding member of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination after being subpoenaed to the federal courthouse in Alexandria in Virginia. Prosecutors have convened a grand jury there to investigate the WikiLeaks disclosures. Mr House told reporters after his appearance that nearly all the questions posed by prosecutors centred on Bradley Manning, who is being held at Fort Leavenworth while military authorities conduct their own investigation into whether he illegally leaked sensitive documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Mr House said he was not asked any questions about Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Justice Department, Mr House said, "is very frantically trying to link Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, and they're casting a very wide net". His lawyer Peter Krupp said that while Mr House has done nothing wrong, he invoked his right against self-incrimination because "any testimony he would give would be manipulated to be used against him". Mr Krupp also accused prosecutors of using the grand jury to trample on Mr House's right to freely associate with Private Manning or other WikiLeaks supporters. Prosecutors, if they choose, could give Mr House immunity for his testimony and compel him to answer questions. If Mr House still refused to testify, he could then be charged with contempt of court and sent to jail to try and force his testimony. Mr Krupp said prosecutors gave no indication whether they would grant Mr House immunity, and no decision has been made on what Mr House will do if he gets immunity. About 20 supporters of Mr House and Private Manning staged a rally outside the courthouse to offer support. Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst, said that while it's important for soldiers and civilians to honour their promises to keep classified information secret, it's more important to expose wrongdoing within the government that is going unchecked. "I'm talking about stopping war crimes. ... I'm talking about bringing people to justice. Bradley Manning, at the tender age of 22, was able to see this," Mr McGovern said. "I have every reason to believe that was his motivation." Mr House, 24, a freelance computer scientist from Boston, said he, too, understands the government's desire to protect information that's vital to national security. But he said the documents exposed by WikiLeaks provide a vital watchdog role exposing government wrongdoing, including military attacks on civilians and foreign policy missteps. "WikiLeaks has been cast as a breach of national security because the US government has been embarrassed by the disclosures," Mr House said. "I don't want to wake up every morning and just read how glorious the US government is." AP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! 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