Interpol, the world’s biggest international police organisation, added WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to its wanted list after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for him on rape charges.
Assange, 39, originally from Townsville, Australia, is being sought under the Lyon-based organisation’s Red Notice, authorising local police forces in member states to arrest him and hold him for extradition, according to Interpol’s website.
The request for his arrest comes as WikiLeaks continues to release diplomatic cables, including some secret correspondence, on its website. The planned release of 251,287 documents, of which 291 are currently available, has been condemned by several world leaders, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling it “an attack on the international community.”
Assange is accused of rape and sexual molestation after two women complained in August when he was in Sweden giving lectures on WikiLeaks’ publishing of classified US military documents related to the war in Afghanistan. He has denied the charges and his lawyer in the United Kingdom, Mark Stephens, has said that Assange had consensual sex with the women.
Assange is only wanted as a witness in Sweden, Stephens, said in an e-mail today. “The UK police know how to contact him,” he said. “He is not and has never been on the run.”
Assange has appealed the November 24 decision of a Swedish court that upheld an arrest warrant on rape charges, Expressen newspaper reported yesterday, citing court officials.
“The Australian government is aware Assange is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice,” the attorney general’s office said today in an e-mailed statement.
Protocols
Australian Federal Police follows agreed protocols to Interpol notices which may “include arrest” and notification through Interpol to the agency seeking arrest or extradition if the subject is in Australia, according to the statement.
The government won’t disclose if it has received an extradition request until an arrest is made, the attorney general’s office said.
Robert McClelland, the attorney general, said on November 29 that he had asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate the leaks and whether any Australian laws were broken.
“Australia will support any law enforcement action that may be taken,” he told reporters. “We have formed a whole-of- government task force to look at the issues.”
