Fighting extradition
Is Julian Assange’s case merely a legal one or is it connected to his whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks?
What would otherwise have been a private legal issue has instead become a global public cause.
Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks, is fighting extradition to Sweden. He is wanted for questioning over sexual assault claims against two women in Sweden – charges he denies.
Currently in British custody, he was granted bail on Tuesday. But he remains behind bars as Swedish prosecutors challenged that decision.
Several supporters of WikiLeaks and Assange had gathered outside the court, many of them offering to secure the bail amount of over $300,000.
They say his arrest is politically motivated, as his website continued to embarrass the US and other governments by leaking thousands of confidential diplomatic cables.
Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, asks if Assange’s case is merely a legal one or connected to WikiLeaks.
Joining the programme are Mark Stephens, the lawyer of Julian Assange, and Mark Taylor, an international lawyer.
This episode of Inside Story aired from Wednesday, December 15, 2010.