Damon Mcknight
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, has had a colourful and controversial history. From his early days as a hacker to his eventual rise as an activist and publisher, Assange has been at the centre of numerous legal battles and political controversies. In 2010, WikiLeaks released footage of a US military helicopter killing civilians in Baghdad, bringing Assange into the international spotlight. This was just one of many leaks that exposed government and corporate secrets, leading to intense scrutiny and debate. Assange's actions have sparked discussions around freedom of expression, individual privacy, and the role of the media. After a drawn-out legal battle, Assange returned to his homeland of Australia in June 2024.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Julian Paul Assange |
| Born | 3 July 1971, Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation | Australian editor, publisher, and activist; computer programmer |
| Known for | Founding WikiLeaks; Publishing leaks from Chelsea Manning |
| Awards | Several awards for publishing and journalism |
| Political career | WikiLeaks Party; Unsuccessful bid for the Australian Senate in 2013 |
| Legal issues | Charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion; Charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917; Pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets |
| Current status | Allowed to return to Australia after a deal with the U.S. Justice Department |
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What You'll Learn
Julian Assange's return to Australia
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, returned to his homeland of Australia on June 26, 2024, aboard a charter jet. His return came after a drawn-out legal battle with the US, which ended when he pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets.
Assange was born in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, on July 3, 1971, and lived in over thirty Australian towns and cities during his childhood. He settled in Melbourne in his middle teens, where he became involved in the hacker community and was convicted of hacking in 1996. He founded WikiLeaks in 2006, which released thousands of classified documents from government and corporate entities.
In 2012, after his extradition appeal was denied, Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for almost seven years. During this time, in 2013, he launched the WikiLeaks Party and unsuccessfully stood for the Australian Senate. In 2019, his asylum was withdrawn, and he was arrested and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching the UK Bail Act.
In February 2024, the Australian parliament, with the prime minister's support, voted to urge the US and UK to allow Assange to return to Australia. On his return, he was greeted by his wife, Stella Assange, and a handful of supporters. He was also accompanied off the plane by former prime minister Kevin Rudd and Australia's High Commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Assange home, saying he was pleased that the saga was over. Assange's return marked the end of a long legal battle and the efforts of the Australian government to secure his release.
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WikiLeaks Party
Julian Paul Assange, an Australian computer programmer and activist, founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks was established in Australia with the help of Daniel Mathews, and its servers were soon moved to Sweden and other countries that provided greater legal protection for the media.
In 2013, Assange launched the WikiLeaks Party in Australia to support his bid for a Senate seat in the Australian federal election that year. The WikiLeaks Party was a minor libertarian political party that promoted a platform of "transparency, accountability, and justice". It fielded a total of seven candidates in Senate races in the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia. However, the party performed poorly in the election, capturing less than 1% of the national vote and failing to win any seats in the Senate.
The WikiLeaks Party was heavily criticised for meeting with former President Bashar al-Assad during a trip to Syria and experienced internal dissent over its governance and electoral tactics. It was deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission in 2015 due to low membership numbers.
Assange himself described the WikiLeaks Party as a combination of "a small, centralised leadership with maximum grassroots involvement". The party's constitution and policies reflected a commitment to promoting openness and transparency in government and politics, protecting human rights and freedoms, and combating intrusions on individual privacy.
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Assange's asylum in Ecuador
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of Wikileaks, was granted asylum by Ecuador in 2012. Assange had been facing extradition to Sweden on charges of rape, sexual molestation, and unlawful coercion, which he denied. He sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy, where he lived for nearly seven years.
Assange's stay in the embassy was not without controversy. Security personnel worked 24-hour shifts and monitored his contacts and visitors. In 2018, Ecuador cut Assange's internet connection after he used social media to criticise Germany and Britain and to support Russia. Ecuador stated that he had broken a commitment "not to issue messages that might interfere with other states". Assange's supporters, however, claimed that he was exercising his right to free speech.
Relations between Assange and the Ecuadorian government further deteriorated after President Lenín Moreno took office in 2017. Moreno, who had always viewed Assange with disdain, gave him a set of house rules, including paying for his expenses and taking better care of his cat. In 2019, Assange's asylum was abruptly ended by Ecuador, with Moreno accusing him of "discourteous and aggressive behaviour" and "repeated violations of international conventions and daily-life protocols".
The Ecuadorian government listed several reasons for withdrawing Assange's asylum, including meddling in the country's relations with other states, threatening and insulting embassy staff, playing loud music, skateboarding and playing football inside the embassy, poor hygiene, and interfering in the country's internal affairs by accessing security files without permission. The final straw appeared to be Wikileaks' allegations that the Ecuadorian government was trying to blackmail Assange using videotapes of a medical examination.
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Assange's hacking history
Julian Paul Assange, an Australian computer programmer, is the founder of WikiLeaks, a media organisation that released thousands of classified documents from government and corporate entities. Assange has been described as Australia's "most famous ethical computer hacker".
In 1991, Australian authorities charged Assange with 31 counts of cybercrime, to most of which he pleaded guilty. However, he only received a small fine as punishment, as the judge deemed his actions to be driven by youthful curiosity. Despite this, The Guardian would later describe him in 1991 as "probably Australia's most accomplished hacker".
Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006 to serve as a platform for publishing sensitive and classified documents. WikiLeaks' first document was published in December 2006, and the organisation went on to release a series of significant leaks, including footage of a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad and U.S. military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
In 2019, Assange was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion related to the leaks provided by Manning. The U.S. government unsealed new indictments in 2019 and 2020, charging him with violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and alleging he conspired with hackers. Assange's defenders have argued that prosecuting him would set a dangerous precedent, threatening press freedom and investigative journalism worldwide.
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WikiLeaks' funding
WikiLeaks is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It was founded in 2006 by Australian computer programmer and activist Julian Assange. WikiLeaks is funded by donations and media partnerships.
Assange has stated that WikiLeaks' only revenue stream consists of donations, but it has also received funding through media partnerships. In September 2010, Assange said that WikiLeaks received millions of dollars in media partnerships, which allowed them to "win concessions in relation to the number of journalists that will be put on [a story] and how big they'll run with it".
WikiLeaks has also received funding through various organisations and foundations. In 2010, Assange said the organisation was registered as a library in Australia, a foundation in France, and a newspaper in Sweden. It also used two US-based non-profit 501c3 organisations for funding purposes. The Wau Holland Foundation, one of WikiLeaks' main funding channels, stated that it received more than €900,000 in public donations between October 2009 and December 2010, of which €370,000 was passed on to WikiLeaks. In 2015, WikiLeaks began issuing "bounties" of up to $100,000 for leaks.
In addition to these sources of funding, WikiLeaks has also received support through in-kind donations. Assange has said that, in some cases, legal aid has been donated by media organisations such as the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
WikiLeaks has faced challenges in securing funding due to its controversial nature. In 2010, the organisation shut down its website while management appealed for donations. WikiLeaks stated that it would resume full operation once the operational costs were paid. In 2012, WikiLeaks took credit for a fake New York Times website and article, prompting criticism from commenters and the public, who said it hurt WikiLeaks' credibility. Despite these challenges, WikiLeaks has continued to operate and publish leaked documents.
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Frequently asked questions
As of June 26, 2024, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has returned to his homeland of Australia.
Assange spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, followed by five years in a British prison fighting extradition to the US.
Assange was in prison for breaching the United Kingdom Bail Act. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and violating the Espionage Act of 1917.
WikiLeaks is a media organisation established in Australia in 2006. It released thousands of classified documents from governments and corporate entities. Assange described WikiLeaks as an "activist organisation" with the goal of transparency and justice.
