WikiLeaks

Julian Assange's mother Christine recently tweeted the following facts about extraditions involving the US, the UK, Sweden, and Australia.

After a debate with a colleague about WikiLeaks, I was told "Assange stole our Graham".

Assange didn't steal me, nor did he steal a host of others who stand firm on their belief systems of truth, justice, and holding governments to account. I happen to have a moral compass that aligns with those people, who would also seem to share my beliefs: that the state can be wrong, that the state can commit crimes, that the state can lie and get away with it and that laws do not necessarily serve to protect their people but incriminate them, and that such laws should be changed.

This is our live-coverage on Julian Assange's request for political asylum. See the archives for coverage of previous days.

I'm one of four people currently running WLC. We took over about four months ago. Several members of the current team were in at the beginning and helped launch WLC. That was back on 17 November 2010. Going on two years ago.

There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then, through all of the year 2010 when our lives and our world were turned topsy-turvy.

The increasing prevalence of 'sharing' on the InterWebs gave birth to new social media such as Twitter and to the emergence on 5 April 2010 of the natural force known as Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

On May 30, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favor of Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden, five to two. But Mr Assange's lawyer Dinah Rose QC - as an act of quick thinking which earned her The Guardian's "star of the week" - raised a point which was able to delay his extradition and potentially reopen the case as a whole. Since the decision was based on interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties - something not brought up during the February proceedings - Ms Rose argued that the defence hadn't the chance to properly contest the point.

Mr Assange's legal team has until June 13 to make an application on this matter. The Supreme Court will then decide whether or not to reopen the case. If reopened, the court will accept more submissions, either in document form or via further hearings. If not, the ruling will stand and Mr Assange will be extradited to Sweden within 10 days.

Julian Assange has spent over 550 days in detainment without charge. Sweden wishes to extradite him solely for the purpose of questioning, yet denies all offers to question him in the UK, despite it being completely legal to do so.

His battle is far from over and people around the world must continue to stand up and support him.

For further reading see Per E Samuelson's "Julian Assange's concerns are justified" (English translation here) and WSWS's "Defend Julian Assange".

The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600 4 June 2012

Dear Prime Minister

RE: JULIAN ASSANGE

Regrettably we feel compelled to write to you about the plight of Mr Assange.

Julian Assange interviewed on Late Night Live Radio, 6 June 2012. Full audio is available via the RadioNational website.

Phillip Adams: Good day, beloved listeners. Last night on this little wireless program, I was talking to Shapiro about the Obama kill-list. It's pretty dangerous being deemed an enemy of the American people these days, because at any moment a drone will come in and take you out. And of course tonight we've learned that another member of Bin Laden Proprietary Limited has been killed by one of those precision attacks. I think if I was Julian Assange, I'd be more concerned with a drone attack than with mere extradition, but let's see how Julian is feeling at this time of, well, endless strife. Julian, who's talking to us from his hideout in the English countryside where he's under house arrest, joins us on the program. How are you coping with this incredible stress level?

Julian Assange interviewed on 2UE Radio, 4 June 2012. Full audio is available via the 2UE website.

Tim Shaw: Well, I'm really pleased to say, as promised, joining me live on the line from London is founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. Good morning from here, good afternoon/evening to you, Julian.

Julian Assange: Good morning.

On the 30th May 2012, Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam raised concerns over Julian Assange's looming extradition to the US before Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The response he obtained regarding the protection of Julian Assange's rights as an Australian citizen (fully transcribed here) was quite vague and evasive.

by Novinite.com & TAZ.de

The German edition Taz.de asks rhetorically whether Bulgarian PM, Boyko Borisov, would have remained in office if the US secret service CIA was to appear as key witness of the charges against him. Photo by BGNES

The secret cables of the US Embassy in Sofia, exposing Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, as participant in criminal activities, list a source SIMO, which is now being disclosed as a codename for the CIA.

A BBC radio reporter in Stockholm this morning reporting on the Assange case said that Assange left the country not knowing there was an arrest warrant issued for him but managed to avoid bringing up the 5 weeks he waited in Sweden beyond his planned visit to be questioned, only leaving when the Swedes said he could.

The UKSC has the luxury of answering one simple question, whilst the world around swirls with complex issues. Leaving aside the possibility that the case against Assange seems to be politically motivated, that the Americans may want to extradite him, and that the women in question have never claimed that they didn't willingly have sex with Assange, there is still the exploitation of this situation by some powers that be.

Today at approximately 09:20AM the UK Supreme Court ruled against Julian Assange, upholding the European Arrest Warrant which orders his extradition to Sweden. Mr Assange's battle against extradition has so far spanned 540 days, 530 of which he spent electronically tagged under house arrest, the other 10 held in solitary confinement. He has not been charged with any crime and is being extradited solely for the purpose of questioning.