WikiLeaks founder Assange arrested in London over rape case

Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website that leaked thousands of classified U.S. military and State Department documents, was arrested by London police over rape allegations made in Sweden.

Assange, 39, was arrested “by appointment” today at 9:30 a.m. after Swedish police requested the Australian’s detention, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said in a phone interview. He is to appear at City of Westminster Magistrate’s Court at 2 p.m., a court official said.

The timing of Sweden’s extradition request was likely influenced by the U.S., which is eager to see action taken against Assange, said Neill Blundell, who leads the fraud practice at Eversheds LLP in London.

“Mr. Assange has created an enemy of the U.S. and could find himself facing a U.S. extradition request after he’s returned to Sweden on the current allegations,” Blundell said. “This may only be the start of a lengthy legal process.”

WikiLeaks drew condemnation for posting thousands of classified documents on its website, including U.S. embassy communications and a military video of a July 2007 helicopter attack in Iraq that killed a Reuters television cameraman and his driver. Created in 2006, WikiLeaks receives confidential material and posts it on the Internet “so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth,” the organization says on its website.

Source: Daily Monitor, Posted Tuesday, December 7 2010 at 16:10