Julian Assange denied bail over sexual assault allegations - The Guardian

Julian Assange arriving at Westminster magistrates court. The WikiLeaks founder's request for bail was denied. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who is wanted in Sweden over claims he sexually assaulted two women, was in Wandsworth prison tonight after a judge refused him bail at an extradition hearing in London.

The 39-year-old Australian, who denies the allegations, was driven away in a white prison van after an extraordinary one-hour hearing at City of Westminster magistrates court. The district judge, Howard Riddle, ruled there was a risk Assange would fail to surrender if granted bail.

Despite Jemima Khan, former wife of Pakistan cricketer Imran Khan, the campaigning journalist John Pilger, the British film director Ken Loach and others offering to stand surety totalling £180,000, the judge said Assange's "weak community ties" in the UK, and his "means and ability" to abscond, were "substantial grounds" for refusing bail.

He was remanded until 14 December, when the case can be reviewed at the same court. His legal team said he would again apply for bail at that hearing.

The move against Assange came on a day when increasing pressure was brought to bear in the US on companies and organisations with ties to WikiLeaks.

As Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate homeland security committee, urged businesses to sever their ties with the website, Visa suspended all donations through its credit card.

Asked about the New York Times's role in publishing the leaked cables, Lieberman told Fox news the newspaper "has committed at least an act of bad citizenship. Whether they have committed a crime I think bears very intensive inquiry".

Assange, wearing a black suit and open-necked white shirt, stood in the glass-panelled dock as more than 50 journalists from around the world packed into the well and more than 20 supporters and friends crammed into the public gallery. Outside, the pavement was swallowed up as more photographers and camera crew jostled with angry protesters gathered at the building's main entrance.

After the ruling – with supporters waving A4 printouts reading "Character Assassination" and "Protect Free Speech" – his solicitor, Mark Stephens, emerged on to the court's steps to claim the prosecution was "politically motivated" and pledged that WikiLeaks would not be cowed. Assange was entitled to a high court appeal, he said, adding the judge was "impressed" with the number of people prepared to "stand up" on his client's behalf. "[Those supporters] were but the tip of the iceberg," he said. "This is going to go viral. Many people believe Mr Assange to be innocent, myself included. Many people believe that this prosecution is politically motivated."

Pilger, who told the judge he did know Assange and had "very high regard for him", said outside court: "Sweden should be ashamed. This is not justice – this is outrageous."

Assange was arrested by appointment at a London police station at 9.20am after a European arrest warrant was received by the Metropolitan police extradition unit yesterday. He appeared in court at 2pm, where he spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and to tell the court: "I do not consent to my extradition."

There was confusion when he initially refused to give an address except a Post Office box number. When told this was unacceptable, his lawyer, John Jones, read out an address at 177 Grantham Street, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. Assange is wanted in connection with four allegations including of rape and molestation.

Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish prosecutors, said the first involved complainant A, who said she was the victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of 14 August in Stockholm. The court heard Assange is accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.

The second charge alleged Assange "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.

The third charge claimed Assange "deliberately molested" Miss A on 18 August "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity". The fourth charge accused Assange of having sex with a second woman, Miss W, on 17 August without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home.

Lindfield argued there was a "high risk of flight" because of Assange's "lifestyle, connections and potential assets".

He had access to funds, through PayPal donations to the WikiLeaks website, had a "network of international contacts", lived a "nomadic" lifestyle, and spent his time in "hiding", she said. The court later heard that for the past three weeks he had been staying at a UK address, and before then had spent two months living at the Frontline media club in Paddington.

There was no record of him entering the UK in the first place. He had displayed an unwillingness to co-operate, refusing to be photographed, fingerprinted or give a DNA sample on arrest, she added.

No details were given about the strength of evidence, with Lindfield saying it "is not a factor in relation to bail". She also opposed bail for reasons of his personal safety, saying if granted "any number of unstable persons could take it upon themselves to cause him serious harm".

"This is someone, simply put, to whom no conditions, even the most stringent conditions, could be imposed that would ensure he surrendered to the jurisdiction of this court," she said.

John Jones said the case must be "shorn of all political and media hysteria" associated with WikiLeaks.

Assange was of previous good character, and had voluntarily handed himself in to Kentish Town police station in London. His refusal to be photographed, fingerprinted or give a DNA sample was on legal advice.

He had stayed in Sweden for 40 days after the allegations were made to answer the charges and only left the country after being given "express permission" by the Swedish prosecutor.

Since he had arrived in the UK he had "consistently agreed to talk to the Swedish authorities". His defence fund had been frozen, and he would also be "instantly recognised" if he tried to leave the country, said Jones.

"He resists extradition as it is disproportionate to extradite someone under these circumstances. There has been every indication that the point of this warrant is to get him back for questioning."

The judge said the warrant did state it was for prosecution.

Others offering surety were Professor Patricia David, and the lawyer Geoffrey Sheen, president of Union Solidarity International, who both said although they did not know Assange they were concerned about human rights. An unnamed relative of Assange offered £80,000.

But judge Riddle said: "The nature and strength of the evidence is not there, this is normal at this stage in proceedings. What we have here is the serious possible allegations against someone with comparatively weak community ties in this country. He has the means and ability to abscond if he wants to and I am satisfied that there are substantial grounds to believe if I granted him bail he would fail to surrender."

Downing Street said Assange's arrest was "a matter for the police" and there had been no ministerial involvement.

A WikiLeaks spokesman, Kristinn Hrafnsson, said it would not stop the release of more secret files. "WikiLeaks is operational. We are continuing on the same track as laid out before. Any development with regards to Julian Assange will not change the plans we have with regards to the releases today and in the coming days."

Unlike the UK, Swedish rape law is not based on consent but on the aforementioned concept of sexual integrity. There are a number of possible offences against this integrity. Those that involve both penetration and either physical force or a threat of some illegal act, such as violence, are classified as rape. So are assaults on people who are helpless at the time, either as a result of intoxication or severe mental disturbance. The degree of physical force involved need only be very small. It can be enough merely to move the victim's legs apart, according to Gunilla Berglund, at the Swedish ministry of justice. Rape carries a sentence of between two and six years; aggravated rape a sentence of four to 10 years.

An issue concerning Assange's lawyers is the lack of bail in Swedish criminal procedure. Suspects are remanded in custody when legal grounds can be made out for their detention – particularly when they are foreigners who are deemed at risk of absconding.

However, there are strict limits on the timescale for bringing a suspect to trial, with a formal charge required within two weeks of being remanded into custody, and trial one week after that.

The Swedish director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, dismissed suggestions of a political motive for the rape allegations.

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Julian Assange's Swiss bank account closed - The Guardian

According to reports, Scotland Yard had received the paperwork required to arrest Julian Assange over allegations in Sweden. Photograph: Lennart Preiss/AP

The international pressure on Julian Assange increased today after the banking arm of the Swiss post office announced that it had closed the WikiLeaks founder's account because he had given "false information".

"PostFinance has ended its business relationship with … Julian Paul Assange," the bank said in a statement.

"The Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account opening process."

It said that although Assange had given his residence as an undisclosed address in Geneva, he could offer no proof of being a Swiss resident.

WikiLeaks had advertised the PostFinance account details online to "donate directly to the Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks Staff Defence Fund," giving an account name of "Assange Julian Paul, Geneve".

A spokesman for the bank told the Associated Press the account was closed this afternoon, but added that there would be "no criminal consequences" for misleading authorities.

"That's his money, he will get his money back," he said. "We just close the account and that's it."

PostFinance is the latest institution to sever its ties with Assange and WikiLeaks. Last week, Amazon.com withdrew its hosting of WikiLeaks' cables site and the WikiLeaks.org domain was taken offline by Everydns.net. On Saturday, PayPal, which is owned by the auction website eBay, froze WikiLeaks' account, saying it was being used for "illegal" activity.

It was also reported this afternoon that Scotland Yard had received the paperwork required to arrest Assange over allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.

But the Metropolitan police declined to comment on the claim, attributed by Press Association to unnamed sources.

Swedish prosecutors have sent an international arrest warrant to the Met, seeking the extradition of Assange for questioning on allegations – which he strongly denies – of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.

Jennifer Robinson, one of his lawyers, said his legal team had heard nothing from the police to suggest that their client's arrest was imminent.

Assange, who is staying in Britain, has come under criticism from politicians in the US and around the world after his site started publishing excerpts from a cache of more than 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables last week.

Another of Assange's lawyers, Mark Stephens, yesterday denounced the extradition warrant as a "political stunt" and said his client would fight deportation to Sweden on the grounds that it could lead to him being handed over to the US, where senior politicians have called for him to be executed.

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British police know location of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange: report - Christian Science Monitor

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Police in Britain know WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s whereabouts in the country, but have not acted on an international arrest warrant for him, a British newspaper reported Thursday.

The enigmatic figure, whose organization is in the midst of releasing some 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables that have been embarrassing to the US and, according to some, could damage diplomatic relations around the world, is wanted in Sweden for questioning on rape allegations. Mr. Assange has been absent from public view for nearly a month.

In a statement on its website Dec. 1, the international police organization Interpol said that it had put out a "red notice" for Mr. Assange on Nov. 20 to all 188 member countries. The red notice was only made public this week, however, following official authorization by Sweden, Interpol said.

A red notice is not itself an arrest warrant, but a notification that a warrant exists in one country and that that country will seek extradition of the suspect if arrested, as The Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday. Some nations treat the notice as request for an arrest.

British newspaper The Independent reported today that police in Britain are “fully aware” of where Assange is staying, but have not authorized his arrest because officials are seeking “clarification” about his Swedish arrest warrant. Assange gave the police contact information when he moved to Britain in October, and Scotland Yard has been in touch with his attorneys for a month, reports the paper. He is believed to be in southeast England.

But unnamed sources told The Independent that Britain’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) wants more information on the European Arrest Warrant issued for him by Swedish prosecutors. The Independent describes the warrant as using a “fast-track system for arresting suspects within the EU.”

MSNBC reports that according to Scotland Yard, “Swedish authorities need to issue a European arrest warrant – which is executable in the UK – before Assange can be arrested.”

The revelation comes as circumstances are already looking grim for Assange. On Thursday a Swedish court rejected his attempt to appeal his detention order in Sweden, reports the BBC. He had attempted to appeal court rulings allowing his arrest warrant to be issued. He has not been charged in the alleged rape, sexual molestation, and coercion but is wanted for questioning.

And the Associated Press reported Wednesday that Amazon.com refused to continue hosting WikiLeaks on its servers, and those who run the site were forced to move it back to a Swedish host. The website came under cyber attacks as it released the secret diplomatic cables, causing it to be unavailable at times. Amazon’s decision came after US senators contacted the company about the issue, according to the AP. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has also said the US may want to prosecute Assange for violating secrecy laws or espionage.

Assange’s lawyers have denied the charges against him, and said Swedish authorities have ignored his requests for a meeting. People close to Assange have said he has been subject to death threats. And his mother recently defended him, saying much of what had been written about him is untrue, and he is merely “fighting baddies,” reported The Christian Science Monitor.

But the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks are causing concern in the international community, with some saying they will have far-reaching damage on diplomatic relations. The Monitor reports that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the release “an attack on the international community.”

… Secretary Clinton said that both the furthering of US national interests and the operation of the world’s international political system depend on thousands of confidential exchanges, assessments, and conversations every day.

Far from being a “laudable” effort to make the workings of government transparent, the leaking of classified cables, she said, can have a chilling effect on such US foreign policy goals as the promotion of human rights or expansion of religious freedoms by discouraging the foreign proponents of those goals from working with the US.

The Monitor reports the released cables are unlikely to “lead to any significant geopolitical shifts or fundamental reworkings of US relations with other countries,” but may have a negative impact on the US diplomatic corps in its ability to have open conversations with their counterparts in foreign governments.

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The secret life of Julian Assange - CNN

Julian Assange can be charming yet cagey about his private life and is rarely shaken by discussions of even the most controversial revelations on WikiLeaks.Assange's mother buys him his first computer when he is 13He becomes an expert hacker, keen on network security issuesLater he is driven by an activist's conviction and a journalist's curiosityIn 2006, he creates WikiLeaks, which posts leaked intelligence papers

(CNN) -- He grew up constantly on the move, the son of parents who were in the theater business in Australia.

Now, Julian Assange, 39, finds himself on the move again, wanted in Sweden for alleged sex crimes and wanted by officials around the world for his website WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of documents containing confidential information.

If he has succeeded in creating a public firewall of sorts around himself, it is perhaps because he learned as a child to cope with solitude and exposed his mind to the machinery that would overtake his life.

Assange has been described by his mother, Christine, as "highly intelligent."

He was just 13 when she bought him a Commodore 64 computer. It was 1987, and there were no Web sites. Assange attached a modem to his computer and began his journey through the growing world of computer networks.

"It's like chess," he told New Yorker magazine. "Chess is very austere in that you don't have many rules, there is no randomness and the problem is very hard."

Though his mother raised him without any religious influence, she sensed that from a tender age, her son was led by a strong desire to do what he perceived as just.

"He was a lovely boy, very sensitive, good with animals, quiet and has a wicked sense of humor," she told the Melbourne, Australia, Herald Sun newspaper Wednesday.

He would go on to study mathematics and physics at the University of Melbourne.

In interviews, his scientific precision shines through. He speaks in a baritone voice, in measured pace, choosing each word carefully. He can be charming yet cagey about his private life and is rarely shaken by discussions of even the most controversial revelations on WikiLeaks.

He's the kind of person who, he says, can hack into the most sophisticated computer system. But he can forget to show up for an interview. Or cancel at the last minute.

When he talks, he displays an astonishing breadth of interests: from computers to literature to his travels in Africa.

Even when he walked out of a CNN interview in October after refusing to answer questions about the sex charges in Sweden, Assange remained cool and collected. He projected a stately demeanor helped by his profusion of gray hair -- which grew at an early age -- and an equally steely facial expression.

After his initial foray into computers, Assange delved into computer encryption and grew keen on computer security. He once relayed a story about how he set up an encryption puzzle based on the manipulation of prime numbers.

The New Yorker article, published earlier this year, described how in 1991, Assange hacked into the master terminal of the telecom company Nortel, after which he developed a growing fear of arrest.

He had married and fathered a child when he was only 18 but the relationship fell apart and his wife left him with their infant son.

He was charged with 31 counts of hacking in Australia but in the end paid only a small sum in damages, according to the New Yorker.

The young hacker began to focus his attention away from network flaws to what he perceived as wrongdoings of governments.

In a 2007 blog post on IQ.org, he wrote:

"The whole universe or the structure that perceives it is a worthy opponent, but try as I may I can not escape the sound of suffering. Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with insouciance. But not now; men in their prime, if they have convictions are tasked to act on them."

IQ.org is believed to be a blog created by Assange and is registered under the name "JA" by the same U.S. domain company as WikiLeaks. Its Australian postal address is also the same as a submissions address for WikiLeaks.

Among myriad topics addressed in the blog, Assange discusses mathematics versus philosophy, the death of author Kurt Vonnegut, censorship in Iran and the corporation as a nation state.

Driven by the conviction of an activist and the curiosity of a journalist, Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He slept little and sometimes forgot to eat. He hired staff and enlisted the help of volunteers.

Always, he protected his sources, never discussing where information came from.

"People should understand that WikiLeaks has proven to be arguably the most trustworthy new source that exists, because we publish primary source material and analysis based on that primary source material," Assange told CNN. "Other organizations, with some exceptions, simply are not trustworthy."

The Web site skyrocketed to notoriety in July when it published 90,000 secret documents about the war in Afghanistan. It was considered the largest intelligence leak in U.S. history.

WikiLeaks followed in October with classified documents about the Iraq war. And then this week, it began posting 250,000 cables revealing a trove of secret diplomatic information.

Some praised WikiLeaks as a beacon of free speech. But others, including outraged Pentagon and White House officials, consider it irresponsible and want WikiLeaks silenced for what they call irreparable damage to global security.

Assange, the elusive public face of WikiLeaks, catapulted to celebrity status.

The image of the lean, lanky, leather jacket-clad figure with the pale skin and mop of white hair was splashed on television screens and websites. Everyone wanted to know how the editor in chief of WikiLeaks had pulled it off.

Time magazine has nominated him for its Person of the Year, calling him a "new kind of whistle-blower ... for the digital age."

But Assange's notoriety did not stop there. Shortly after the Afghan war releases, he became the subject of a sex crime case in Sweden.

The Stockholm Criminal Court issued an international arrest warrant for Assange two weeks ago on probable cause in that case, saying he is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and illegal use of force in separate incidents in August. He could be sentenced to two years in prison if convicted.

Interpol issued a high alert for Assange on Wednesday at the request of Sweden.

Assange has maintained his innocence and called the charges in Sweden a smear campaign. He has also dismissed reports of internal strife within WikiLeaks.

Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a longtime volunteer and spokesman for WikiLeaks who recently quit his job, told CNN that Assange's personality was distracting from the group's original mission: to publish small leaks, not just huge, splashy ones like the Afghan War Diary.

Assange took issue.

"It is my role to be the lightning rod," Assange said. "That is a difficult role. On the other hand, I get undue credit."

Assange's mother said Wednesday that she feared her son had become "too smart for himself."

"I'm concerned it's gotten too big and the forces that he's challenging are too big," Christine Assange told the Herald Sun.

She did not comment on the sex crimes charges in Sweden. But she said lately, Assange had distanced himself from his family to protect them.

Assange, too, declined to address the charges in the October interview with CNN in London.

"This interview is about something else. I will have to walk if you are ... going to contaminate this extremely serious interview with questions about my personal life," he said.

Then, he pulled off his mic, said sorry, and walked away.

CNN's Mia Aquino contributed to this report.

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