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Who is Julian Assange? Everything to Know About the WikiLeaks Founder Amid His U.S. Extradition Case
Julian Assange is being prosecuted by US authorities on eighteen counts in connection with the disclosure by WikiLeaks of enormous amounts of classified diplomatic and military cables from the United States.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is unwell and is not attending a British court for his extradition
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks is trying to stay out of being extradited to the US to face criminal accusations related to espionage and publishing sensitive material.
Julian Assange's attorneys file last appeal to stop extradition
Julian Assange's attorneys filed their last appeal against the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the United States on Tuesday in a U.K. court. The 52-year-old Assange is being tried on 18 counts by US authorities in connection with the well-publicized disclosure by WikiLeaks of enormous amounts of classified diplomatic and military cables.
According to US attorneys, Assange is accountable for conspiring with Manning and trying to hack into a Pentagon computer. The 1917 Espionage Act, which has never been applied to the publication of secret material, is the legal basis for the indictment of Assange.
Assange's extradition was ordered by a UK High Court in 2021, and a year later, the Supreme Court upheld the decision. In April 2022, the extradition order against Assange was lifted by former Home Secretary Priti Patel.
In the two-day hearing, the Australian-born Assange, who has been detained since 2019, requests a review of the extradition order issued by the former home secretary and plans to contest the 2021 court order.
Who is Julian Assange?
Julian Paul Assange was an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who established WikiLeaks in 2006. Julian Assange, was born in Townsville, Queensland, on July 3, 1971. Growing up, Julian Assange moved about Australia, residing in over thirty different towns and cities. Along with receiving his education at home, he attended several schools, including Goolmangar Primary School in New South Wales (1979–1983) and Townsville State High School in Queensland.
Assange started the Puzzle Hunt tradition at the University of Melbourne modeled after the MIT Mystery Hunt. Assange received the nickname "Prof" and was part of the Melbourne rave scene, helping to set up an internet kiosk at Ollie Olsen's dance night, Psychic Harmony.
In 2010 he gained widespread worldwide recognition with the publication by WikiLeaks of several US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning's leaks, which included US diplomatic cables, US military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and video of an airstrike in Baghdad. Assange has received numerous honors for his journalism and publishing.
But in 2010 and 2011, WikiLeaks unleashed a diplomatic storm by releasing a massive collection of classified military documents. Washington wants to prosecute him for the alleged national security breaches caused by the disclosures.
What is Wikileaks?
WikiLeaks is an internet platform that Assange founded where users can anonymously contribute secret information, including documents and videos. A video of a US Apache helicopter attack that claimed the lives of twelve individuals, including two Reuters journalists, was made public by WikiLeaks in April 2010.
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