DW: Julian Assange – the case of the WikiLeaks founder

 

British police arrested Julian Assange on April 11, 2019 in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. The arrest ended nearly seven years of diplomatic asylum and left little standing between Assange and extradition.

Assange has been accused of sexual assault in Sweden, while in the US he is wanted on espionage charges and for publishing top secret documents on the internet platform he founded, WikiLeaks. Since his arrest, he has been held in Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison on the outskirts of London. If the UK turns Assange over to the US, he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted. His case is highly politicized. Some brand him a traitor. Others say he champions freedom of information. As our report shows, the case against Julian Assange also involves some apparent inconsistencies.