SALON

Tuesday, Dec 7, 2010 11:26 AM UTC

Assange arrested

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested on a Swedish warrant over sex-crime allegations

By

Topics: WikiLeaks,

Assange arrestedFILE - In this Oct. 23, 2010 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, attends a news conference in London. The lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he is arranging for British police to question the man who unleashed a tidal wave of secret documents on the Internet. Lawyer Mark Stephens told reporters Monday night in London that the Metropolitan Police had called him to say they had received the arrest warrant from Sweden for Assange, who has been staying at an undisclosed location in Britain. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss, File) (Credit: AP)

Police say WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested on a Swedish warrant.

Assange was arrested at 9:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) Tuesday and was due to appear at Westminster Magistrate’s Court later in the day.

Assange was expected to surrender to British police Tuesday as part of a Swedish sex-crimes investigation — one of a host of international legal, financial, and security challenges closing in on the secret-spilling website.

Lawyer Mark Stephens has said that Assange, who has been hiding out at an undisclosed location in Britain since WikiLeaks’ began releasing hundreds of U.S. diplomatic cables to the Web last week, would soon meet with officers from London’s Scotland Yard.

The police force said Tuesday it wouldn’t comment until an arrest had been made.

The Internet-based organization’s room for maneuver is narrowing by the day. It’s been battered by web attacks, cut off by Internet service providers and been subjected to a barrage of muscular rhetoric out of the United States.

In the latest development, Swiss authorities closed Assange’s bank account, depriving him of a key fundraising tool. MasterCard has also pulled the plug on payments to the site, according to technology news website CNET. A European representative for the credit card company didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

The attacks appeared to have been at least partially successful in stanching the flow of secrets — WikiLeaks has not published any new cables to the Internet in more than 24 hours, although stories about them have continued to appear in the New York Times and The Guardian, two of the papers given advance access to all 250,000 documents.

WikiLeaks Twitter feed, generally packed with updates, appeals, and pithy comments, has been silent since Monday night, when the group warned that Assange’s arrest might be imminent.

The 39-year-old Australian’s legal troubles stem from allegations leveled against him by two women he met while in Sweden over the summer.

Assange is accused of rape and sexual molestation in one case and of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion in another.

Assange denies the allegations, which Stephens has said stem from a “dispute over consensual but unprotected sex.” Stephens said the two women involved made the allegations only after they became aware of each other’s relationships with Assange.

Although unrelated to WikiLeaks’ mass disclosures, which have infuriated U.S. officials, Assange and his lawyers have suggested that the prosecution is being manipulated for political reasons.

Assange’s arrest could happen within hours. Depending on whether Assange decides to fight the extradition attempt, as Stephens has said he was likely to, the process could drag on for weeks or months.

Stephens couldn’t immediately be reached for comment early Tuesday.

——

Online:

http://wikileaks.ch

 

Associated Press

More Associated Press.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 29 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Forging Newt Gingrich Primary Signatures: Adam Ward pleaded guilty to 36 counts of voter fraud and perjury
85 points86 points | 7 comments
vote
Study: Young people are more liberal than they think they are.
64 points65 points | 22 comments
vote
Here Come the Edward Snowden Truthers
55 points56 points | 21 comments
vote
The internal war between House Oversight Committee chair Darrell Issa and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings blew up again Tuesday, when Cummings released the full transcript of a five-hour interview with the conservative Republican IRS screening manager.
43 points44 points | 6 comments
vote
How cash secretly rules surveillance policy: Today's congressional hearing was a joke. The reason: Firms like Booz Allen bankroll and own Congress. Here's how
42 points43 points | 6 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations