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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail by a British court Wednesday after he was arrested over allegations of sex crimes in Sweden. Assange, whose whistle-blowing website is at the center of a row over the release of secret US diplomatic cables, was detained under a European arrest warrant. "There are substantial grounds to believe he could abscond if granted bail," Senior District Judge Howard Riddle said at a court hearing in London, adding that the allegations were of a serious nature, and Assange had comparatively weak community ties in Britain. Assange, who denies the allegations, faces a fresh hearing Tuesday. The Australian national surrendered to Scotland Yard's extradition unit at a police station Wednesday morning, AFP reported. His Swedish lawyer has said Assange would fight any extradition and believed foreign powers were influencing Sweden, according to Reuters. The US government and others across the world have argued that the publication of cables is irresponsible and could put their national security at risk. US Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that the US government was considering ways to seek prosecutions over leaks. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was visiting Afghanistan Wednesday, welcomed the arrest of Assange. However, in a newspaper opinion piece to be published today, Assange said the whistle-blowing website was "fearlessly" exposing facts in the public interest, according to AFP. He told The Australian newspaper that "not a single person, as far as anyone is aware, has been harmed" through the website's revelations. A journalist working for WikiLeaks told AFP Wednesday that the website would release more secret US diplomatic cables despite the arrest of its founder. Separately, secret US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks continued to make headlines around world Wednesday. A January 2009 cable showed that the US views Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as a "wily politician with an uncanny ability - like a cat in a jungle - to sense opportunity or danger," AFP reported. Citing a US cable, Spain's El Pais newspaper reported Wednesday that Poland has asked the US for more protection against Russia, Reuters reported. Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich had told US diplomats that US forces could use three military complexes on its territory, the report said. Meanwhile, the international backlash against WikiLeaks continues as French Industry Minister Eric Besson demanded the website be banned from French servers after it took refuge there Wednesday. Visa has suspended all payments to WikiLeaks, a spokesman for the company said Wednesday. Agencies |
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