Julian Assange today appeared in court after being arrested by British police over alleged sexual offences in Sweden. The WikiLeaks founder, 39, told a district judge at Westminster Magistrates Court that he refused to be voluntarily extradited to face the four charges.
He as refused bail despite five wealthy supporters, including heiress Jemima Khan and writer John Pilger, offering £100,000 in assurance. The Australian, who gave a Victoria address when asked in court, was whisked into the complex by an unmarked police car an hour earlier at about 1pm this afternoon. He had walked into a London police station at 9.30am this morning and was immediately arrested over demands that he is sent to Sweden to face questioning over the rape allegations.
It comes after Scotland Yard officers finally took receipt of the correct paperwork for a European Arrest Warrant yesterday. U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates today said the arrest ‘sounds like good news’ while Downing Street was more tempered, describing the incident as ‘entirely a matter for police’. WikiLeaks today said Mr Assange’s arrest will not stop further U.S. diplomatic cables being released. A spokesman added: ‘This will not change our operation.’
His lawyer Mark Stephens said: ‘Julian Assange has been the one in hot pursuit to vindicate himself to clear his good name. ‘He has been trying to meet with her (the Swedish prosecutor) to find out what the allegations are he has to face and also the evidence against him, which he still hasn’t seen.’
Meanwhile, PostFinance, the financial arm of the Swiss post office, said it had closed Mr Assange’s account after he provided ‘false information’. The bank said he falsely claimed to live in Geneva and people who do not live in Switzerland cannot hold accounts. WikiLeaks used the account for donations. The sex case is Mr Assange’s most pressing legal issue, but may not be his last as several countries chew over the impact of his diplomatic cable disclosures.
He has come under growing pressure after his WikiLeaks site started publishing excerpts from a cache of 250,000 secret messages. Former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has described him as ‘an anti-American operative with blood on his hands’. Senior Republican Mike Huckabee said that ‘anything less than execution is too kind a penalty’. WikiLeaks was forced to move to a Swiss host after being dumped by U.S. internet companies as it comes under siege from a series of cyber attacks.
Meanwhile, all Government departments have been asked by national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts to review their computer security. The whistlelowing website sparked unprecedented anger by yesterday revealing a classified catalogue of installations including defence plants, satellite facilities and undersea cables in Britain. They were among hundreds of key industries and infrastructure identified across the world that Washington believes is vital to its national security.
It was the latest tranche of U.S. diplomatic cables to be released since the website began to drip 250,000 leaked files on to its website. On a day of dramatic developments: The Swiss post office bank, PostFinance, froze Mr Assange’s accounts – containing defence fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros – for giving false information regarding his home. Home Secretary Theresa May admitted all Government departments had been ordered to review their computer security by national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts.
And the U.S. attorney general Eric Holder said he would examine U.S. laws over a possible prosecution for releasing the sensitive official files. Among the sensitive locations revealed by the WikiLeaks site were three facilities owned British arms and aerospace manufacturer BAE.
