14-12-2010, 11:43 AM
THE Sunshine Coast mother of jailed WikiLeaks mastermind Julian Assange has just one mission in mind: to hug her son.
Christine Assange, who has never before left her home in Australia, has landed in London to visit her son in jail.
She told the Sunshine Coast Daily that she needed to see her son and know he was well.
After a 24-hour flight to London, Mrs Assange was exhausted but not distressed.
If she was nervous it did not show as she pulled the hood of a black jumper over her head and walked out of the airport into the 4C winter night.
“I came here to be with my son. I want to see him, I want to see how he is,” she said.
Mrs Assange said the Australian government needed to do more to help her son.
“There’s Julia Gillard opening for Oprah … and my Julian is sitting here in prison,” she said.
“Is it more important to suck up to the Yanks than to look after your own people?”
Mr Assange is being held in an isolated cell at Wandsworth Prison ahead of his court appearance today.
He faces allegations of sexual assault on two women in Sweden.
Supporters of WikiLeaks have accused authorities of acting on political pressure to silence Mr Assange and the whistleblower website, which has started leaking more than 250,000 confidential US government cables.
Mr Assange will apply for bail as prosecutors push to extradite him to Sweden.
His mum said her son had a strong will but would be struggling while being held in a jail cell.
“It would be depressing for him. He likes his freedom and wide open spaces,” she said.
“He’s now in a cramped, cold, forbidding place.”
Mrs Assange said she was angry with Prime Minister Julia Gillard for suggesting her son was a criminal.
The Daily revealed on Sunday that Mr Assange had demanded Ms Gillard stop implying his guilt for fears it would encourage his assassination.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Mr Assange’s legal rights.
Mr Rudd emphasised that it was his decision as to whether Mr Assange’s passport would be revoked or not.
He said that decision would be made on advice from the Australian Federal Police and other authorities.
At the weekend, Mr Rudd said he had received no such advice.
Mrs Assange said she believed there was political pressure on Swedish authorities to charge her son.
“This hearing is a forerunner for the US to extradite him. If the US get their hands on him he will be jailed forever or he will be killed … that’s how serious this is,” she said.
Mrs Assange does not believe the sexual allegations against her son are true.
“The only reason it’s happening is because it’s Julian from WikiLeaks,” she said.
source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au
————————————————————————————————
exclusive: Assange releases statement from jail
Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spoken out for the first time from his London jail cell, saying his determination has not been affected by his incarceration.
In a world exclusive statement provided to reporter Mike Duffy, Mr Assange said the charges have only increased his purpose.
7News reports the mother of the WikiLeaks mastermind, Christine, has flown to London to be near her son, who is in solitary confinement inside Wandsworth Prison while he awaits an extradition hearing on Tuesday tonight.
“I told him how people from all over the world were standing up with placards and screaming out for his freedom and justice, and he was very heartened by that,” she said.
In a ten-minute telephone conversation from inside the prison, 7News reports Christine asked the chief of one of the most controversial websites ever created “was it worth it?”
In a written statement, Mr Assange responded: “My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them.
“If anything this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct.”
American and other authorities have cracked down on WikiLeaks and Mr Assange since the site started publishing thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables that have embarrassed the United States and other parties around the world.
Despite this, Mr Assange’s biggest blast was saved for the world’s major finance companies who suspended payments to the not-for-profit site.
“We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are instruments of US foreign policy,” he said.
“It’s not something we knew before.
“I am calling for the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks.”
39-year-old Mr Assange, who created WikiLeaks in 2006, is in police custody in Britain after a European arrest warrant was issued by Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual crimes. He denies the allegations and will fight extradition.
He is also facing possible charges in the US over the embarrassing publication of the confidential cables, with Mr Assange’s British lawyer, Mark Stephens, claiming a secret US grand jury has been set up to work on charges that could be filed against the WikiLeaks founder in relation to the leaks.
Mr Assange’s mother Christine told 7News her support lies wholly behind her son and his cause.
“As a mother, I’m asking the world to stand up for my brave son.”
Christine Assange, who has never before left her home in Australia, has landed in London to visit her son in jail.
She told the Sunshine Coast Daily that she needed to see her son and know he was well.
After a 24-hour flight to London, Mrs Assange was exhausted but not distressed.
If she was nervous it did not show as she pulled the hood of a black jumper over her head and walked out of the airport into the 4C winter night.
“I came here to be with my son. I want to see him, I want to see how he is,” she said.
Mrs Assange said the Australian government needed to do more to help her son.
“There’s Julia Gillard opening for Oprah … and my Julian is sitting here in prison,” she said.
“Is it more important to suck up to the Yanks than to look after your own people?”
Mr Assange is being held in an isolated cell at Wandsworth Prison ahead of his court appearance today.
He faces allegations of sexual assault on two women in Sweden.
Supporters of WikiLeaks have accused authorities of acting on political pressure to silence Mr Assange and the whistleblower website, which has started leaking more than 250,000 confidential US government cables.
Mr Assange will apply for bail as prosecutors push to extradite him to Sweden.
His mum said her son had a strong will but would be struggling while being held in a jail cell.
“It would be depressing for him. He likes his freedom and wide open spaces,” she said.
“He’s now in a cramped, cold, forbidding place.”
Mrs Assange said she was angry with Prime Minister Julia Gillard for suggesting her son was a criminal.
The Daily revealed on Sunday that Mr Assange had demanded Ms Gillard stop implying his guilt for fears it would encourage his assassination.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has defended Mr Assange’s legal rights.
Mr Rudd emphasised that it was his decision as to whether Mr Assange’s passport would be revoked or not.
He said that decision would be made on advice from the Australian Federal Police and other authorities.
At the weekend, Mr Rudd said he had received no such advice.
Mrs Assange said she believed there was political pressure on Swedish authorities to charge her son.
“This hearing is a forerunner for the US to extradite him. If the US get their hands on him he will be jailed forever or he will be killed … that’s how serious this is,” she said.
Mrs Assange does not believe the sexual allegations against her son are true.
“The only reason it’s happening is because it’s Julian from WikiLeaks,” she said.
source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au
————————————————————————————————
exclusive: Assange releases statement from jail
Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spoken out for the first time from his London jail cell, saying his determination has not been affected by his incarceration.
In a world exclusive statement provided to reporter Mike Duffy, Mr Assange said the charges have only increased his purpose.
7News reports the mother of the WikiLeaks mastermind, Christine, has flown to London to be near her son, who is in solitary confinement inside Wandsworth Prison while he awaits an extradition hearing on Tuesday tonight.
“I told him how people from all over the world were standing up with placards and screaming out for his freedom and justice, and he was very heartened by that,” she said.
In a ten-minute telephone conversation from inside the prison, 7News reports Christine asked the chief of one of the most controversial websites ever created “was it worth it?”
In a written statement, Mr Assange responded: “My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them.
“If anything this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct.”
American and other authorities have cracked down on WikiLeaks and Mr Assange since the site started publishing thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables that have embarrassed the United States and other parties around the world.
Despite this, Mr Assange’s biggest blast was saved for the world’s major finance companies who suspended payments to the not-for-profit site.
“We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are instruments of US foreign policy,” he said.
“It’s not something we knew before.
“I am calling for the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks.”
39-year-old Mr Assange, who created WikiLeaks in 2006, is in police custody in Britain after a European arrest warrant was issued by Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual crimes. He denies the allegations and will fight extradition.
He is also facing possible charges in the US over the embarrassing publication of the confidential cables, with Mr Assange’s British lawyer, Mark Stephens, claiming a secret US grand jury has been set up to work on charges that could be filed against the WikiLeaks founder in relation to the leaks.
Mr Assange’s mother Christine told 7News her support lies wholly behind her son and his cause.
“As a mother, I’m asking the world to stand up for my brave son.”
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass