US files indictment against WikiLeaks founder on espionage charges

(Patria) – The US Department of Justice on Thursday filed an indictment against Julian Assange on 18 counts, including the unlawful disclosure of names of secret sources and conspiracy with former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain access to classified information.  

Assange was initially charged with conspiracy with Chelsea Manning to access a government computer in 2010, which resulted in the publication of classified information by WikiLeaks about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

If the indictment is confirmed, Assange could face a prison sentence of several decades, Reuters reports.

US Department of Justice officials explain that Assange not only helped and encouraged Manning to steal classified documents, but also endangered the lives of many Afghans, Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights activists and political dissidents by publishing their identities.

Chelsea Manning was initially arrested in May 2010 and found guilty by a military court in 2013 of espionage in connection with WikiLeaks, a portal that presents itself as a platform for 'censored or restricted official material involving war, espionage and corruption'.

Former US President Barack Obama commuted Manning's prison sentence from 35 to 7 years. However, she is currently back in prison for persistently refusing to testify before a court in the Assange case.  

Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in a British prison while fighting extradition to the US, after the Ecuadorian embassy in London revoked his seven-year asylum in April.

Sweden has also submitted a request for Assange's extradition, reopening a case in which the WikiLeaks founder is accused of raping a woman during a visit to Sweden.

The decision on which country will have the right to prosecute him first is now in the hands of British Home Secretary Sajid Javid.