Interpol issues global wanted notice for WikiLeaks’ founder
188 countries made aware of Julian Assange’s ‘Red Notice’ status
The global police agency Interpol said yesterday it had issued a global wanted notice for WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape, on the basis of a Swedish arrest warrant.
“There is a public ‘Red Notice’ on behalf of Sweden,” an official said, confirming that Interpol had posted Sweden’s request for assistance in tracking down the 39-year-old Australian on its website.
Sweden’s International Public Prosecution Office in Gothenburg issued an arrest warrant for the secretive activist on November 18, citing “probable cause of suspected rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion”.
Interpol said its 188 member states had been “made aware of Mr Assange’s ‘Red Notice’ status, which is a request for any country to identify or locate an individual with a view to their provisional arrest and extraditions.
“Many of Interpol’s member countries consider a Red Notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty,” it added.
Mr Assange, whose current location is unclear, contested the warrant in a Swedish appeals court, but his first bid to get it thrown out was rejected last week and he has lodged a second appeal.
In the meantime, he could face arrest and extradition to Sweden from anywhere in the world where local authorities decide to act on the warrant.
Some of Mr Assange’s supporters have accused unnamed forces of framing him for the alleged sexual assaults on two Swedish women in Sweden in August, in order to undermine his campaign to publicise secret documents. The elusive activist’s lawyers have not taken this tack, however, arguing instead that the prosecutor should not need to arrest him simply to question him, as he had proposed several dates and times for questioning.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks’ crusade has continued, with this week’s dump of the first of around a quarter of a million secret US State Department cables online and a barrage of leaks in world newspapers.
The release of the documents, mainly internal US diplomatic telegrammes, has proved highly embarrassing for the US and some of its allies, with surprise revelations and indiscreet asides about world events.
Mr Assange gave an interview to Time magazine on Tuesday from an undisclosed location through the Skype internet phone service. Although Australian, he is thought to live mainly in Europe, and has been seen recently in Britain.
In Australia, Mr Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, said she was “as any mother would be, very distressed” that authorities were looking for her son, the state-run Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
“He’s my son and I love him and obviously I don’t want him hunted down and jailed. I’m reacting as any mother would – I’m distressed,” she said.
Ms Assange, who lives in Queensland, denied that she had moved away from her home town of Melbourne because of media interest in her son.
“A lot of stuff that’s written about me and Julian is untrue,” she said.
The ABC said Ms Assange runs a puppet theatre in Noosa.
The Australian government, which has joined government’s around the world in condemning WikiLeaks release of confidential diplomatic cables, has confirmed Mr Assange is an Australian passport holder.