Assange not responsible for leaks, rather those who originally released the documents are legally liable, says Australian FM Kevin Rudd.
By ASSOCIATED PRESSWikileaks Julian Assange(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Australia on Wednesday blamed the US, and not Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, for the unauthorized revelation of 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables, saying the individuals who originally released the documents were legally liable, Reuters reported.Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd added that "adequacy" of US security over the documents was questionable.RELATED:UK judge denies Assange bail, forced to stay in jailUS chases WikiLeaks from American computer network"Mr. Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorized release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network," Rudd said in an interview with Reuters."The Americans are responsible for that," said Rudd.On Tuesday, a British judge jailed Julian Assange, ordering the leader of secret-spilling website behind bars as his organization's finances came under increasing pressure.Assange showed no reaction as Judge Howard Riddle denied him bail in an extradition case that could see him sent to Sweden to face allegations of rape, molestation and unlawful coercion.Assange denies the accusations and has pledged to fight the extradition, while a spokesman for his organization said the US diplomatic secrets would keep on flowing — regardless of what happened to the group's founder.The release of a Tuesday op-ed piece by Assange, defending Wikileaks, coincided with his arrest.Excerpts from the op-ed were released by The Australian.
Assange writes mostly about freedom of speech, and quotes Rupert Murdoch as saying: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win.’’Assange defends his methods and goals in the article, saying that American and Australian politicians are chanting a "probably false chorus [of] 'you'll risk lives! You'll endanger troops!'"Jpost.com staff contributed to this report.
