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Assange fights extradition to Sweden

Fears death penalty in US In a 74-page court submission, Assange's lawyers argued that there was a risk that, if he was extradited to Sweden, the US would seek his "extradition and/or illegal rendition to the USA, where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay." If he was sent to the United States, there was a risk he could be "made subject to the death penalty" charged with espionage for publishing the diplomatic cables

London, February 7
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asked a British judge today to block his extradition to Sweden on sex crime allegations, arguing he would not get a fair trial and could end up facing execution in the United States.

The 39-year-old Australian computer expert, who has infuriated the US government by releasing thousands of secret US diplomatic cables on his website, is wanted in Sweden where two WikiLeaks volunteers allege sexual misconduct. Assange denies the allegations.

Assange's lawyer Geoffrey Robertson told a court in London that Assange would not be able to get a fair trial in Sweden because rape trials are usually held in private. "You cannot have a fair trial when the press and the public are excluded from the court ... There is a real risk of flagrant violation of his rights," he said at the start of Assange's two-day extradition hearing.

In Stockholm, Swedish officials confirmed that rape trials in the country do normally take place behind closed doors. Assange, wearing a dark suit and tie, was cheered by a small group of supporters as he was driven into the maximum security Belmarsh Magistrates' Court earlier.

About a dozen TV satellite trucks were parked outside and reporters from around the world queued to cover the hearing, reflecting the intense media interest in the WikiLeaks founder. — Reuters

WikiLeaks is about to be leaked

Berlin: The former spokesman of the secret spilling website, who left the group after a famous falling out with founder Julian Assange, is about to publish what's billed as a tell-all book about its inner workings.

Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a cryptic computer scientist, was WikiLeaks' best-known face after Assange himself. Perhaps in true WikiLeaks style, his insider account is being published next week simultaneously in 16 countries.

Publishers around the world have promised that Domscheit-Berg's "Inside WikiLeaks: My time with Julian Assange at the world's most dangerous website" will "tell the full story" and reveal never-disclosed details about the group's operations.

They said the book would explore WikiLeaks' evolution, finances and controversies - as well as the antagonism between Domscheit-Berg and Assange. The former spokesman left the project in September, after citing personal, ethical and political differences with Assange.

Domscheit-Berg told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Monday that he wanted to "show both the good and the bad sides of WikiLeaks, also when it comes to my relationship with Assange - and I tried to do this in a balanced way." Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson was not immediately available for comment.

The book will be released in Germany, Australia, South Korea, Britain and 12 other European countries on February 11, according to its German publisher Econ Verlag. In the United States, it will be published four days later, on February 15. Other countries including Japan, Brazil, and Russia plan publications soon. — AP