The United States is suing Australia for publishing classified material about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through the Whistleblower website. Could be up to 175 years in prison for this purpose. The extradition case is expected to last three or four weeks.
Assange appeared in court shaven and dressed in a suit, in stark contrast to his reckless appearance when he was arrested last April in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he had been granted asylum for more than six years. Sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching the terms of his release in 2012.
Assange’s supporters view Assange as a champion of the free speech that exposed Americans’ abuse of power. According to US law, Assange is a conspirator and has put the lives of security sources at risk with his posts.
In June, the Americans accused Assange of collaborating with the hacker groups Anonymous and LulzSec. A new charge did not win him, but the Americans add the charges to his file. It seems to “paint a more complete picture”.
Assange reportedly gave the LulzSec leader a list of targets to be hacked in 2012. This includes the CIA and NSA. Hackers who worked with both groups had also posted the compromised data on WikiLeaks.
According to his lawyer, Assange’s arrest in Britain was illegal (video)
