WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange denied accusations of rape today after Swedish authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.
The maverick online publisher wrote through a Twitter account in his name, “The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing.”
Sweden’s prosecutor’s office said today WikiLeaks founder Mr Assange is wanted in connection with rape and molestation claims. “Julian Assange is wanted for two different issues, one of them is that he’s suspected of rape in Sweden,” the director of communications Karin Rosander said.
She was unable to say what the other accusation was or whether the arrest warrant was international. According to the Swedish daily newspaper Expressen, the 39-year-old Australian is also wanted for assaulting a woman. Kristinn Hrafnsson, a colleague of Mr Assange’s who spoke to AFP from Iceland, said that the charges against him were false.
“He didn’t know of the charges until he read them in the right wing tabloid Expressen this morning,” Ms Hrafnsson said. “There are powerful organisations who want to do harm to WikiLeaks.” Ms Hrafnsson said Mr Assange was still in Sweden and would “go to the police very quickly”.
Mr Assange was in Sweden to announce at a press conference that the whistleblower website was set to publish a final batch of 15,000 secret documents on the war in Afghanistan in “a couple of weeks.” WikiLeaks in late July posted 76,000 classified military documents including those relating to operations in Afghanistan.
The site was criticised because the documents identified Afghanis who were working with US authorities. It was claimed the leaks put the operatives lives at risk for reprisals from the Taliban.
Be the first to comment