WikiLeaks founder charged with rape, molestation in Sweden
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 21, 2010 7:27 a.m. EDT
WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange at a press conference in London on July 26, 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Assange denies the charges on the WikiLeaks Twitter page
* The charges against Julian Assange were filed Friday night
* Police have not made contact yet with the elusive Assange
Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- The founder and editor of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been charged in Sweden with rape and molestation, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office told CNN Saturday.
Spokeswoman Karin Rosander said the charges were filed Friday night, but she didn't have further details.
Assange denied the charges in a posting Saturday on the WikiLeaks Twitter page, saying, "The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing."
Assange was in Sweden last weekend, but Rosander said it's not clear whether he is still in the country. She said police have been unable so far to make contact with Assange.
An elusive figure, Assange reportedly lives part-time in Sweden. He told the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet this week that he chose Sweden to host several servers for WikiLeaks because of the country's privacy laws.
He also told the paper, in an interview published Monday, that he had been in Sweden because he wanted a safe place to go after the high-profile leak of U.S. documents related to the war in Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks has sparked major controversy by posting some 76,000 pages of those documents online last month, in what was called the biggest leak since the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized the leak, saying it would have a significant negative impact on troops and allies, revealing techniques and procedures.
Assange has defended the leak by saying it can help shape the public's understanding of the war. He said the material was of no operational significance and that WikiLeaks tried to ensure the material did not put innocent people at risk.
CNN's Bharati Naik in London, England, contributed to this report.
smells like some bullshit to me
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 21, 2010 7:27 a.m. EDT
WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange at a press conference in London on July 26, 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Assange denies the charges on the WikiLeaks Twitter page
* The charges against Julian Assange were filed Friday night
* Police have not made contact yet with the elusive Assange
Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- The founder and editor of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been charged in Sweden with rape and molestation, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office told CNN Saturday.
Spokeswoman Karin Rosander said the charges were filed Friday night, but she didn't have further details.
Assange denied the charges in a posting Saturday on the WikiLeaks Twitter page, saying, "The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing."
Assange was in Sweden last weekend, but Rosander said it's not clear whether he is still in the country. She said police have been unable so far to make contact with Assange.
An elusive figure, Assange reportedly lives part-time in Sweden. He told the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet this week that he chose Sweden to host several servers for WikiLeaks because of the country's privacy laws.
He also told the paper, in an interview published Monday, that he had been in Sweden because he wanted a safe place to go after the high-profile leak of U.S. documents related to the war in Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks has sparked major controversy by posting some 76,000 pages of those documents online last month, in what was called the biggest leak since the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized the leak, saying it would have a significant negative impact on troops and allies, revealing techniques and procedures.
Assange has defended the leak by saying it can help shape the public's understanding of the war. He said the material was of no operational significance and that WikiLeaks tried to ensure the material did not put innocent people at risk.
CNN's Bharati Naik in London, England, contributed to this report.
smells like some bullshit to me
