Wikileaks founder Julian Assanage is being hunted by Interpol after being added to its Wanted list for alleged sex crimes, however Assange’s lawyer has called the arrest warrant “unnecessary and disproportionate.”
Interpol has issued a ‘Red Notice’ for the controversial journalist who has been in this week’s headlines after his Wikileaks website published another batch of confidential US documents. See it here: interpol.int
However, the worldwide alert on Julian Assange is not related to Wikileaks but to allegation that he raped two women in Sweden.
Wikileaks reveals Prince Andrew’s rudeness
Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, bio
Shocking revelations from Wikileaks
An arrest warrant for Assange has been issued by the International Public Prosecution Office in Gothenburg. On Interpol’s website, the category of offence for Assange is simply stated as ‘Sex crimes’.
The Red Notice called for by Interpol is a request for the provisional arrest of a fugitive, prior to a possible extradition to the nation that issued the warrant. It means that Assange can be arrested anywhere in the world.
However Assange has hit back, claiming that the arrest warrant is part of a smear campaign by the US in retaliation for Wikileaks’ publishing of classified files.
Assange’s lawyer said of the sex crime charges: “All of these offers [to co-operate with local authorities when Assange was in Sweden] have been flatly refused by a prosecutor who is abusing her powers by insisting that he return to Sweden at his own expense to be subjected to another media circus that she will orchestrate.
“Pursuing a warrant in this circumstance is entirely unnecessary and disproportionate.”
Assange has been lying low since Wikileaks published its latest batch of documents. His mother spoke out today, saying that she was concerned and “reacting as any mother would”.