Interpol: Julian Assange 'Red Notice' Issued

Interpol has issued a red notice for the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The notice is an international 'wanted poster' that the agency hopes will lead to the extradition of the wanted person to the country that originally filed the arrest warrant.

The notice is now appearing on Interpol's website, saying that he is wanted for " sex crimes." The charges come from an alleged incident in Sweden.

According to Wired:

The investigation stems from separate encounters Assange had with two women during his August visit to Sweden, where he was applying for Swedish residency and attempting to secure the protection of Swedish free-press laws for his secret-spilling website. According to local news reports, the women told investigators the sexual encounters began as consensual, but turned non-consensual. One woman said Assange ignored her appeals to stop when the condom broke.

Assange has denied any wrongdoing, and hinted that the complaints are the result of a U.S. "smear campaign" targeting WikiLeaks -- leading some supporters of the group to publicly investigate the two women and their families.

According to the Guardian, Assange is in a 'buoyant mood' despite the severe legal pressures he is facing. In addition to the charges in Sweden, he is facing investigation by Australian police. Reports the Guardian:

He was said to be at a secret location somewhere outside London, along with fellow hackers and WikiLeaks enthusiasts.

In contrast to previous WikiLeaks releases, Assange has, on this occasion, kept a relatively low profile. His attempt to give an interview to Sky News via Skype was thwarted today by a faulty internet connection.

Assange may still have one safe haven: the left-leaning government of Ecuador has promised that he can have a home there if he is forced to abandon his attempt to gain residency in Sweden.

UPDATE: The president of Ecuador has rescinded an offer made by a lower official to provide residency for Assange.

Comments

[h1ren]

05:08 PM on 12/04/2010

"sex crimes" - yea... sure...

The whole world is going down the drain...

[owltattoo]

04:40 PM on 12/04/2010

Let me get this straight - women are getting raped and mutilated daily in Rwanda and Interpol is after Julian Assange over the vaguest of charges? Please....

[markm8128]

01:14 PM on 12/08/2010

If Interpol can go after Assange for not using a condom...thank how many HuffPo users could be next!

[iriemeditation]

02:27 AM on 12/04/2010

Interpol Dick Cheney Warrant Issued
i expect no less than equal attention
Arresting Dick should be top priority!

[karen1p]

05:17 PM on 12/02/2010

This from a professor I know:

"The smartest thing that Assange has done in the past few months is that he put up a massive encrypted file (a couple of gigs) on the Wikileaks site and asked people to download it (I did) and a statement with the file says that if anything happens to him, the password key to the file will be made public. It is his insurance policy."

Assange, you are the public's newest hero!

[johnbrownsghost]

09:36 PM on 12/02/2010

Shows the level of belligerence and paranoia from a guy with a laptop.

[karen1p]

12:25 AM on 12/03/2010

Paranoia? You've got elected officials saying he @ss@ssinated.....basically, they are calling for his MURD3R.

Synonyms for Belligerence:
aggression, aggressiveness, assaultiveness, bellicosity, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, defiance, disputatiousness, feistiness, fight, militance, militancy, militantness, pugnacity, quarrelsomeness, scrappiness, truculence, chip on one's shoulder

I love that he is defiant, feisty and scrappy. Good for Julian!

[james4truth1066]

02:59 PM on 12/04/2010

Reminds me of Guy Fawkes, pointing out the dangers of secret govts.

[behavingbadly]

05:11 PM on 12/04/2010

more like Guy Noir

[Atarg]

03:53 PM on 12/02/2010

This is ridiculous, an obvious smear campaign by the powers-that-be. The corrupt mafia that runs the world must really be powerful and immune when they don't even have to make a credible attempt to discredit this whistleblower. They are so powerful that the truth coming out hardly makes a difference.

[jetscan]

06:41 AM on 12/04/2010

Spot on. Fanned.

[BillKen]

03:12 PM on 12/02/2010

So now that Interpol has a 'red notice' out for JA they might as well do a sweep and put 'red notices' out on International War Criminals; George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld
and their criminal pals. To be fair we must have justice for all the criminals, the big and the small ones too. Semper Fi

[sabela]

03:26 PM on 12/03/2010

Nigera is already asking for one on Cheney for stuff done while he ran Haliburton.

[jetscan]

06:43 AM on 12/04/2010

Fanned and faved. Uhm, how about adding the Wall Street crooks to the list as well as BP.

[army193]

01:18 PM on 12/02/2010

My understanding that the charges was reviewed and then dropped. Just waiting for the cable to be released that the United States demanding charges be reviewed again.

[james4truth1066]

12:52 PM on 12/02/2010

His attempt to give an interview to Sky News via Skype was thwarted today by a faulty internet connection.

Uh-hum, a "faulty internet," connection, yep, I am sure this was just a "coincidence"

[jetscan]

06:44 AM on 12/04/2010

Indeed, I was thinking the same when I read the article.

[james4truth1066]

02:52 PM on 12/04/2010

jetscan, powerful forces at work, CIA, Homeland Security, FBI, boy they really are afraid of the truth getting out aren't they? Wonder what they really are afraid of? Everyone knows we tortured, illegal wiretapped, falsely renditioned, and started a war under false pretenses, so what is the govt. REALLY afraid of?

[audadvnc]

12:12 PM on 12/02/2010

Mess with the bull, you get the horns. But thanks for your efforts, Jeremiah...

From Wikipedia:
"Jeremiah warned of destruction of those who continued to refuse repentance and its more moderate consequences. In return for his adherence to God’s disciplines and speaking God’s words, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers, beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet, imprisoned by the king, threatened with death, thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials, and opposed by a false prophet."

[proudHB]

11:08 AM on 12/02/2010

*BREAKING NEWS* WikiLeaks to release Assange's sex tape to prove it was consensual. Only if you wish...

[Cipo]

01:00 AM on 12/03/2010

It appears that it actually was consensual: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/arrest-warrant-sex-crimes-against-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-only-sex-without-condom

[james4truth1066]

02:53 PM on 12/04/2010

I figured, someone with as high a profile as Julian I would hope would be smart enough not to sexually assault someone, (not saying he didn't) but I figured it was a RED HERRING when it was first mentioned a month or two ago.

[namewithheld]

09:45 AM on 12/02/2010

Seems the D1ck will also be wanted by Interpol soon.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-01/nigeria-to-charge-dick-cheney-in-pipeline-bribery-case.html

[David Rozgonyi]

08:44 AM on 12/02/2010

I'm very worried about the timeline here. They've barely begun to dump the data; they had wanted to spread it over several months. I would prefer they dump it all at once and then release highlights, just to ensure that it gets out before he turns up disappeared or wearing concrete shoes or something.

[kb7834]

09:58 AM on 12/02/2010

He has already considered that, and apparently he has a 2TB file labeled insurance that he has given others orders to release if he disappears or dies from questionable circumstances.

[james4truth1066]

02:56 PM on 12/04/2010

Reminds you of cold war era espionage, I hope someone is able to hide Mr. Assange away from authorities, because he will END up dead if captured, (you know, he tried to escape, suffered a brain hemmorage (sp.) or heart attack, or a LONE assassin will shoot him, I am sure he will go by three names as well. Arlington Road & The Siege still give me chills how close to the truth both of those movies were.

[Drmhp]

01:41 AM on 12/02/2010

Now if wikileaks had inside information who was behind the free fall collapse of building 7 of the world trade centers, that would be devastating news to report. I imagine they may and that is the ace of spades they are holding for the future. As an mechanical designer i can see that building 7 NIST report is a cover up. It is going to get really ugly when this happens.

[johnbrownsghost]

01:51 AM on 12/02/2010

I have inside information that the building and safety department in the White House stamped the plans to building 7 without a proper plan check.

[Wisdo]

04:40 AM on 12/02/2010

On the contrary, the NIST report concludes that the likelyhood of collapse of the building due to secondary fires is low, and that further investigation as to the cause of the collapse is warranted. Far from a cover up!

[jrmunson]

11:12 PM on 12/01/2010

Oh...and funny how as soon as Julian's name is attached to the leaks, he's suddenly wanted for rape... coincidence? I think not.

[johnbrownsghost]

01:31 AM on 12/02/2010

You do not respect Swedish law and the Swedish people or the rights of women. What a typical American, no doubt you were for the invasion of Iraq since you think a nations sovereign laws and traditions are not important.

[lpenny]

12:57 PM on 12/02/2010

If he committed the crime why wait until now to take actions. The action should have taken place at the time of that the crime. I have to wonder if this is a smoke screen to discredit the information that he has provided and to prevent him leaking information on our corrupt banking system.

[Cipo]

01:03 AM on 12/03/2010

Would this be the law of which you speak?
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/arrest-warrant-sex-crimes-against-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-only-sex-without-condom

Seriously?

[me again]

09:58 AM on 12/02/2010

Not suddenly, for some time, that's why he has been in England.

[jrmunson]

11:10 PM on 12/01/2010

Our government must be held accountable and transparency is the best possible option in order for that to occur. How can we participate as constituents of a democracy if information is withheld from us about the clandestine operations performed by diplomats that are supposed to be representing the people? While revealing this information may harm relations between our country and others, let this be a lesson to our government that we deserve to know the truth about what those representing us are choosing to do.

[AZreb]

09:15 AM on 12/02/2010

fanned - if I weren't an "equal opportunity heathen", I would say a big "amen" to that.

[LonosCurse]

09:24 AM on 12/02/2010

Good luck with that.