Julian Assange, Arrested By British Police
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been arrested on Tuesday by the British police on an European international warrant issued by the Swedish authorities.
The announcement was made by the London Metropolitan Police, after it denied the possibility on Monday. Police said Assange was arrested at 9:30 a.m. and that he must appear before City of Westminster Magistrates Court later on Tuesday, where the appropriateness of his extradition will be examined
Assange is wanted in Sweden for an accusation of committing sexual crimes, which he denied. The case was reopened after it had been closed during the summer.
One of Assange’s lawyers had previously made arrangements so that the Australian editor-in-chief of the website that upset the United States government may be interviewed by the London Metropolitan Police, after he had been called by the police to be informed that the Met had received the international arrest warrant on Assange’s name.
It is considered that he has been living for the past few days in an undisclosed location in Britain.
Interpol placed Assange on its most wanted list on November 30, after Sweden issued the arrest warrant.
Assange is being accused of sexual molestation and coercion, accusations that could lead to his extradition.
Meanwhile, in spite of the worldwide attacks on WikiLeaks, the website has continued to publish top secret materials.
The latest U.S. cables speak of NATO’s plans to defend the Baltic states, and Poland against any Russian threat.
These releases have prompted the U.S. government to prosecute Assange for placing the country’s security at risk, but the rape case seems to present itself as an even better opportunity to shut him down along with his website.
Still, it is said that Assange has another surprises in store for the governments around the world. There are reports that say he would disclose passwords to very secret documents that are to be published in case he is arrested.
What happens now? We wait and see.
