‘He’s dragging WikiLeaks down with him’: Julian Assange ally urges him to hand himself in to Swedish authorities
One of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s main supporters has accused him of bringing the site down and urged him to hand himself in to Swedish authorities.
Peter Sunde, co-founder of file-sharing website Pirate Bay, said the media glare focussed on Mr Assange was detracting from the work being done on WikiLeaks.
It comes after a Norwegian news service claimed to have obtained unrestricted access to all the secret diplomatic cables being held by the website.
Hand yourself in: WikiLeaks supporter Peter Sunde, right, has said the media focus on allegations against Julian Assange is detracting from the website’s work
Mr Assange, whose website has been steadily leaking the cables over the last few months, will be forced to pay attention to Mr Sunde’s comments as his micropayment site Flattr.com is a main source
WikiLeaks has received more than 5,000 donations of up to 10 euros through the site, The Times has reported.
That figure is believed to have increased dramatically after companies including Mastercard, Visa and PayPal blocked payments to the site.
Mr Sunde told The Times: ‘I think it’s very important that Julian Assange comes to Sweden and has his trial in Sweden to show if he’s guilty or innocent.
‘At the moment he’s dragging WikiLeaks down with him.
‘There’s been far too much focus on Julian as an individual, which distracts the world from WikiLeaks, which has a far higher purpose than one person.’
Protest: Ukrainian activists cover their mouths with U.S.flags during a rally in support of Mr Assange
Mr Assange, 39, is being held at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk as part of his bail conditions as he fights extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges.
He has said the case would ‘probably’ be dropped because of ‘careful scrutiny’.
And he has said he has received death threats since his release from prison.
‘The calibre of those making those death threats has also increased,’ he said.
‘They have been made on the phone to my lawyers, in public and to my children.
‘I do feel fear but I can control it with my mind.It never gets to the level where I’m panicky.’
He warned that if he was extradited to Sweden, British government websites could face attack from hackers.
Support: A supporter wears a Santa hat during another protest in Sydney
Accused: Private Bradley Manning is being held on charges of leaking the sensitive diplomatic cables
Norway’s Aftenposten service told business newspaper Dagens Naerings that it had secured possession of the cables, but did not reveal who had leaked them from inside WikiLeaks.
News editor Ole Erik Almlid told the paper: ‘I have no comments on how we have secured access to the documents.We never give our sources, even in this case.’
Until now, around 2,000 of the 250,000 cables have been released through WikiLeaks’ media partners, including the New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel newspapers.
The leak could undermine Mr Assange’s plan to use the documents as leverage against foreign governments.
Mr Almlid added: ‘We are free to do whatever we want with these documents.
‘We’re free to publish the documents or not publish the documents.We can publish on the internet or on paper.
‘We are handling these documents just like all other journalistic material to which we have gained access.’
U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, who is believed to be the source of the cables leak, remains in U.S.military custody awaiting trial.
Civil rights groups are protesting against his treatment at Marine Corps brig in Quantico, 소액결제 미납 Virginia, where he is kept for 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.