WikiLeaks supporters plan protests in Europe, Latin America

[News_Editor]

WikiLeaks supporters plan protests in Europe, Latin America

2010-12-11 20:30:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- WikiLeaks supporters have announced plans to stage demonstrations in various European and Latin American cities on Saturday to protest the detention of Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle-blowing website.

The Spanish-language website 'Free WikiLeaks' called upon WikiLeaks supporters to join protests to be held on Saturday. "After the actions we have witnessed against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks organization and the cables it released, we believe that this is an appropriate action against the state terrorism and the enemies of freedom," a statement on the website said.

Assange was arrested in London on Tuesday on allegations of rape and sexual molestation in Sweden, unrelated to his work for the controversial whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks which brought diplomatic hurricanes to the United States this year when it began releasing classified documents it had obtained.

Supporters of WikiLeaks have questioned the motives of Swedish authorities to issue the arrest warrant, saying it is an attempt to destroy Assange's image and to put him behind bars. Assange himself has also denied the accusations on multiple occasions, although he admitted to having consensual sex with two women within several days of each other.

A declaration on the 'Free WikiLeaks' website said the supporters demand the release of Assange, who was refused bail on Tuesday and is awaiting an extradition hearing. The supporters also demand the restoration of wikileaks.org, which went offline on December 3 when EveryDNS.net suspended its service to the website.

'Free WikiLeaks' said demonstrations were planned in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Alicante, Corunna, Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia, Zaragoza and Malaga. They are planned to start at 6 p.m. local time.

Similar protests are planned in Buenos Aires in Argentina, Mexico City in Mexico, Bogotá in Colombia, Lima in Peru, Sao Paulo in Brazil and in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In Amsterdam, the protest will be organized by the Dutch Pirate Party. "WikiLeaks.org has been taken offline under pressure of the American government, without the involvement of a judge," said Dirk Poot of the Pirate Party. "The brutal intimidation campaign being waged against WikiLeaks is a life-threatening attack on press freedom and the freedom of expression."

Poot criticized American politicians for labeling WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization and urging corporations to take down WikiLeaks. "What the United States is doing is playing judge by itself: without any form of legal proceedings or even an indictment, WikiLeaks is being declared persona non grata," he added.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-12-11

[chuckd]

I wonder if all 6.5 million of them will show up.

Maybe we can get the T-shirt concession.