Wikileaks: Swiss Freeze Bank Accounts,
UK Receives European Arrest Warrant for Assange
by C. L. Cook
 Embattled Wikileaks says the Swiss government has frozen its defense funds account, while the BBC is reporting a European arrest warrant for the troublesome whistleblowing site founder, Julian Assange has been received by the UK government.
The US-based, Democracy Now! news organization interviewed Assange lawyer, Jennifer Robinson last Thursday, who confirmed Assange was in England, though she contested assertions he was "evading arrest" as is claimed by various government and news sources. She says Assange informed British authorities of his contact information, and says he will see them whenever they wish.
Robinson did confirm Assange was laying low, and that his exact location was a closely held secret, due to numerous death threats uttered against him; not the least of these threats, crimes in themselves, coming from American political figures, and one from Tom Flanagan, former mentor to Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper.
Wikileaks has also released a press release confirming the Swiss government has frozen its legal defense fund. That release is included below. Meanwhile, hundreds of so-called "mirror" sites have sprung up on the internet, in an effort to keep access to U.S. government diplomatic cables available.
WikiLeaks
On Monday 6th December 2010, said:
PRESS RELEASE
Tue 7 Dec 15.55 GMT
Julian Assange Defense Fund frozen.
The Swiss Bank Post Finance today issues a press release stating that it
had frozen Julian Assange's defense fund and personal assets (31K EUR)
after reviewing him as a "high profile" individual.
The technicality used to seize the defense fund was that Mr. Assange, as
a homeless refugee attempting to gain residency in Switzerland, had
used his lawyers address in Geneva for the bank's correspondence.
Late last week, the internet payment giant PayPal, froze 60Keur of
donations to the German charity the Wau Holland Foundation, which were
targeted to promote the sharing of knowledge via WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks and Julian have lost 100Keur in assets this week.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Cablegate exposure is how it
is throwing into relief the power dynamics between supposedly
independent states like Switzerland, Sweden and Australia.
WikiLeaks also has public bank accounts in Iceland (preferred) and Germany.
Please help cover our expenditures while we fight to get our assets back.
http://wikileaks.ch/support.html
From the BBC
Wikileaks: Julian Assange arrest warrant arrives in UK
Julian Assange is thought to be in hiding in England
Britain has received a European arrest warrant from Sweden for the Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange. The warrant is being processed by the Serious Organised Crime
Agency and will be sent to the Metropolitan Police as he is thought to
be in the London area. Mr Assange is wanted in Sweden to face sex allegations which he denies.
It comes as Downing Street issued strong criticism of
Wikileaks for publishing secret diplomatic cables identifying important
facilities.
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