Fast company logo
|
advertisement

NEWS

Read the new charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Charges relating to Assange publishing classified information could lead to a First Amendment battle if he’s successfully extradited to the United States.

Read the new charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

[Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/picture alliance via Getty Images]

BY Steven Melendez1 minute read

Federal prosecutors in Virginia unveiled new charges Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, including some related to publishing classified information received from former soldier Chelsea Manning.

Those included files with the names of “human sources” who themselves provided information to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, prosecutors said in a new indictment.

You can read the full indictment here.

“According to the superseding indictment, Assange’s actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention,” prosecutors said in releasing the new charges.

advertisement

Charging a leader of a media organization, even an unorthodox one like WikiLeaks, over publishing classified information is unusual and will likely lead to challenges under the First Amendment if Assange is successfully extradited from the United Kingdom. Pursuing charges against officials who leak to news organizations under the World War I-era Espionage Act has become more common in recent years, but reporters and editors usually aren’t themselves charged for publishing the leaked information.

Assange is currently in custody in the U.K. after being convicted of violating his bail conditions when he took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy. He entered the embassy while facing a separate extradition request from Sweden, where he faced sexual assault allegations, expressing fear that he’d ultimately be sent to the United States.

Once a formal U.S. extradition request is filed, as is expected to happen next month, prosecutors can’t add additional charges against Assange, The Washington Post reports.

Recognize your company's culture of innovation by applying to this year's Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards before the final deadline, April 5.

CoDesign Newsletter logo
The latest innovations in design brought to you every weekday.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Privacy Policy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steven Melendez is an independent journalist living in New Orleans. More


Explore Topics