- Assange Faces Charges of Sexual Assualt in Sweden - Image by Opethpainter
The news came just days after Mr. Assange was arrested in the United Kingdom for sexual assault which was alleged to have occurred in Sweden earlier in 2010. Mr. Assange is alleged to have sexually assaulted two women and is on bail awaiting extradition.
According to reports in 'The Australian' news website, the Wikileaks founder's lawyers are livid that sensitive and potentially incriminating evidence pertaining to the case was published by UK newspaper, the Guardian. The documents, published in Saturday 18 December 2010 issue of the paper, included police reports that included accusations and witness statements given to police following the alleged incident.
Assange Lawyers Complain to Authorities Over Publication of Police Documents
Bjorn Hurtig, the Wikileaks founder's lawyer in Sweden was outraged over the revelations saying the documents could hinder Mr. Assange's right to a fair trial. In a statement to the Australian press, he said, "I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media. And I feel especially concerned that he will be presented with the evidence in his own language for the first time when reading the newspaper. I do not know who has given these documents to the media, but the purpose can only be one thing - trying to make Julian look bad." (Source: The Australian).
Other supporters were more open, blaming The Guardian for a 'personal smear' and questioned the timing of the release of the documents in Saturday's Guardian. An article, first published on 17 December 2010, was titled 'The Full Allegations Against Mr. Assange' and contained details of what the Guardian called 'unseen police documents' on the subject of the alleged accusations against the whistle-blowing website's founder (Source: The Guardian '10 Days in Sweden').
Guardian Website Produces Full Report Containing Witness Accounts from Assange Rape Case
Mr. Assange's lawyers are particularly critical of the level of detail in the report published by the Guardian newspaper. In the report Mr. Assange is alleged to have repeatedly had unprotected and violent sexual intercourse with a 'Miss A' in August 2010. Allegations also exist from a 'Miss W' of similar charges.
Recently the Guardian newspaper had been enjoying exclusivity of the series of leaked documents from the Wikileaks website.
In answer to criticism over the newspaper's treatment of their top source for the Wikileaks scandal, a spokesperson from the London based paper said "Julian is not a confidential source. The argument that the papers involved with the WikiLeaks cables should not report criticism of him is one all journalists would find ridiculous." (Source: The Australian).
