Julian Assange, born on 3 July 1971 is an Australian editor, publisher, and campaigner who created WikiLeaks in 2006. When WikiLeaks published a series of leaks given by US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010, it gained international attention.
The Baghdad airstrike Collateral Murder video (April 2010), the Afghanistan war logs (July 2010), the Iraq war logs (October 2010), and Cablegate were also among the leaks (November 2010).
The US government began a criminal inquiry into WikiLeaks after the 2010 releases.
What is Julian Assange crime?
The US indictment accused Assange of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion by helping US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning gain access to privileged information, which Assange intended to publish on WikiLeaks.
The charge was less serious than those levelled against Manning, and carries a maximum sentence of five years with a possibility of parole.
Is Julian Assange free?
The US government brought the case against Assange, but the UK government failed to protect journalism and press freedom in its treatment of him, keeping him on remand at London’s high-security Belmarsh prison for more than three years, in stark contrast to the UK’s stated commitment to promote and protect media freedom globally.
Where is Julian Assange now and what is he doing?
The UK Supreme Court denied Assange’s request to appeal in March 2022. Since April 2019, Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh maximum-security prison.
