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Julian Assange: US files 17 new charges against Wikileaks co-founder | Julian Assange: US files 17 new charges against Wikileaks co-founder |
(32 minutes later) | |
The US justice department has filed 17 new charges against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, who is facing extradition from the UK. | The US justice department has filed 17 new charges against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, who is facing extradition from the UK. |
The latest charges accuse him of receiving and unlawfully publishing the names of classified sources. | The latest charges accuse him of receiving and unlawfully publishing the names of classified sources. |
He was previously charged last month on one count of conspiring with ex-intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to the Pentagon network. | He was previously charged last month on one count of conspiring with ex-intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to the Pentagon network. |
Assange is serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail conditions. | Assange is serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail conditions. |
The 47-year-old was found guilty last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had sought refuge since 2012 over sexual assault allegations in Sweden. He denies any wrongdoing. | The 47-year-old was found guilty last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had sought refuge since 2012 over sexual assault allegations in Sweden. He denies any wrongdoing. |
The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning in order to obtain and disclose secret US files and also exposed and endangered confidential sources in the Middle East and China. | The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning in order to obtain and disclose secret US files and also exposed and endangered confidential sources in the Middle East and China. |
Wikileaks hit back after the announcement, tweeting: "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment [to the US Constitution]." | |
Manning was found guilty in 2013 of charges including espionage for leaking secret military files to Wikileaks, but her 35-year sentence was commuted by then-President Barack Obama. | |
The leak was one of the largest breaches of classified material in US history. | |
She is currently back in jail after refusing to testify to a grand jury that is investigating Wikileaks. | |
Separately, Swedish authorities are also seeking the Australian-born Assange after reopening the sexual assault case against him. | |
It follows his dramatic arrest by UK police on 11 April after Ecuador abruptly withdrew his asylum. |