Assange could be next target of prosecution following Manning, claims lawyer

US soldier Bradley Manning's conviction on espionage charges makes it increasingly likely that the United States will prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a co-conspirator.

Judge Denise Lind, an army colonel, found Manning guilty of several violations of the Espionage Act, and he could face life in prison.

According to the Japan Times, Michael Ratner, Assange's American attorney and the president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, said that defense lawyers denied the claim that Manning was acting under the direction of WikiLeaks and Assange, but the government kept trying to bring that up, trying to essentially say that Julian was a co-conspirator.

He added that it was a very bad sign about what the U.S. government wants to do to Assange.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said that a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing, but is unclear if Assange has been charged, the report added.