A Big Misunderstanding? Accusers Are Supporters of WikiLeaks

By Senay Boztas

Sunday, 26 December 2010

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The two Swedish women who accuse Julian Assange of sex crimes are not pawns of the CIA but WikiLeaks supporters seeking justice for a violation of their "sexual integrity", their lawyer, Claes Borgstrom, has said.

"He [Mr Assange] has been spreading false rumours he knows are untrue," Mr Borgstrom said. Denying that the women were part of a smear campaign, he said: "They, too, are supporters of WikiLeaks."

Mr Assange denies allegations of sexual misconduct, which his lawyers say stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex". He is fighting extradition from Britain to Sweden.

Zimbabwe's Attorney General, Johannes Tomana, said yesterday he would investigate possible treason charges against any locals who had briefed US diplomats – details of which were reported in the cables released by WikiLeaks.

SOURCE:  The Independent

Related articles

• Freedom of information: A basic right (nsrtk.blogspot.com)

Opinion: Kenya: Wikileaks Reveals Hypocrisies of Those in Power

Esther Dyson    15 December 2010

If institutions are not fully accountable, it is useful to have an unaccountable countervailing institution to reveal their secrets.

In fact, the Wikileaks model is fairly sensible: it solicits documents from anyone, assesses whether they are real, and posts them with alerts to the establishment press, which operates as de facto gatekeeper to the masses.

East Africa: What Leaks? Secrecy Still Cloaks Region

5 December 2010

Nairobi — The leak of US diplomatic cables from all over the world has raised fundamental question over freedom of information and the operations of the media vis-à-vis governments.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has among others put the media in the East African region on the spot, for not doing enough to investigate corruption in government, or going along with targeted leaks by government officials with their own agenda. The Wikileaks saga proves that even the US government is scared of the new media and its capacity to track goings on in the corridors of power.

Africa: IFJ Condemns United States Desperate And Dangerous; Backlash Over Wikileaks

International Federation of Journalists (Brussels)
2 December 2010

press release

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the political backlash being mounted against the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks and accused the United States of attacking free speech after it put pressure on the website's host server to shut down the site yesterday.
The website's host Amazon.com blocked access to WikiLeaks after United States officials condemned the torrent of revelations about political, business and diplomatic affairs that has given people around the world unprecedented access to detailed information from United States sources, much of it embarrassing to leading public figures.

"It is unacceptable to try to deny people the right to know," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "These revelations may be embarrassing in their detail, but they also expose corruption and double-dealing in public life that is worthy of public scrutiny. The response of the United States is desperate and dangerous because it goes against fundamental principles of free speech and democracy."