(VitalNews.org) – Criminal charges were brought against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but United States lawyers have spoken out saying that the charges were not political and were based on the fact that he named sources and also encouraged theft and hacking.
The WikiLeaks founder could be extradited to the United States in the next few days to face charges related to the publication of classified military and diplomatic documents that had information regarding the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Lawyers have spoken out after being accused of bringing these charges to light due to political retaliation against him because he exposed state criminality, including rendition, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Assange lawyers are calling his prosecution “unprecedented” but the response was that it was not political retaliation and that the charges were brought on because he went “far beyond the acts of a journalist who was merely gathering information.”
The charges state that Assange did more than just publish material, but he instead conspired with Chelsea Manning to steal and disclose classified information. It’s also said that he tried to recruit other hackers and leakers for classified information. It’s alleged that he also “knowingly and indiscriminately published to the world the names of individuals who acted as sources of information to the United States”.
Assange is looking into a full appeal hearing and hopes that the two judges who are hearing his case will grant his request. There are a few things that can happen with his case; if his grant of a full hearing is denied, he will have to go through a process to ask the UK not to extradite him while they consider his case. If this is denied, then U.S. Marshals could be coming to get him within the next few days.
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