WIKILEAKS

Assange Takes Aim at U.S.

From balcony of Ecuadorean embassy.

After two months spent conspicuously absent from the public eye, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made a defiant speech from the balcony of the Ecuadoran Embassy in London on Sunday. The 41-year-old Australian warned of government encroachment on freedom of expression around the world and said he feared extradition to the United States. “As WikiLeaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the health of all of our societies,” Assange said. “I ask President Obama to do the right thing: the United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks.” Ecuador decided last week to grant asylum to Assange, who is fighting extradition to Sweden on rape allegations.