Julian Assange, United States’ nightmare and symbol of freedom of information

Julian Assangewho has been detained in the United Kingdom for almost five years, has become a nightmare for the United States and at the same time a symbol of freedom of information for many.

The US government accuses him of espionage and considers him a threat after the massive leak of confidential material on his website WikiLeakswhereby Assange Tuesday and Wednesday he faces a last resort to avoid extradition to U.S.

WATCH: Julian Assange “will die” if extradited to the US by the UK, warns wife

This 52-year-old Australian citizen created a non-profit media outlet called WikiLeakswhich published, according to the website itself, more than ten million confidential documents, provided by anonymous sources.

A mural of Australian Julian Assange is seen on a Melbourne street on January 5, 2021. (Photo by William WEST/AFP). (WILLIAM WEST/)

WikiLeaks uncovered footage of the July 12, 2007, airstrike in Baghdad in which Iraqi journalists and several civilians were killed by the crew of a U.S. helicopter.

U.S Suddenly, he met with a media outlet that revealed secret leaked Pentagon documents about its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as secret correspondence from the government and its embassies around the world.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange raises his fist before addressing the media on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on May 19, 2017. (Photo by Justin TALLIS/AFP). (JUSTIN TALLIS/)

Accusations in Sweden

In 2010, when WikiLeaks reached its maximum level of popularity with these leaks, Sweden demanded the arrest of Assange on two charges, one of raping a woman and the other of sexual harassment, during a visit to Stockholm to give a conference. These charges were later dropped.

Assange He denied the veracity of both accusations, but had to be placed under house arrest in his rural English home, until, in May 2012, the High Court in London agreed to his extradition to Sweden.

Shortly afterwards, in June 2012, given the harassment he was being subjected to and to avoid his extradition, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in Londonwhere he spent seven years, during the government of Rafael Correia.

With the coming to power of Lenin Moreno to Ecuador, The country stopped granting asylum to the Australian and Assange was arrested in April 2019 by British police and imprisoned in Belmarsh prison.high security, in south-east London.

His wife Stella Moris revealed in 2020 that she had two children with Assange while he lived at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and she was part of the legal team working for him.

Stella Moris, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/AFP). (TOLGA AKMEN/)

The United States wants to prosecute Assange, accusing him of being a spy for the military secrets disclosed, especially those relating to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.SHe is accused of publishing around 700,000 confidential documents about US military and diplomatic activities from 2010 onwards.

If the life of Julian Assange She has been busy in recent years and also during her childhood and youth, which were not easy.

The WikiLeaks founder was born in Townsville, in northeastern Australia, without knowing his father, John Shipton, until he was 25, as his mother separated from him before Julian was born.

Julian Assange, Australian founder of the whistleblower website “WikiLeaks”, holds a copy of The Guardian newspaper on July 26, 2010. (Photo by LEON NEAL/AFP). (LEON NEAL/)

difficult childhood

His mother had a new relationship, with Brett Assange, of whom founder of WikiLeaks He inherited the surname, but from which the woman separated when the boy was eight years old.

In that early part of his childhood, Julian Assange He led a wandering life, as his mother and stepfather founded a theater company and were always traveling.

After this separation, his mother married and had another son with a musician, Leif Meynell, a member of a sect in which Assange lived.

But Meynell mistreated Assange and his mother, and they ended up fleeing.

Attracted to self-taught computing, between 2003 and 2006 he studied Physics and Mathematics, as well as Philosophy, at the University of Melbourne, without completing any degree.

This would not prevent him from creating an Internet page, like WikiLeaks, which was a headache for the world’s greatest power.

Source: Elcomercio