Wikileaks has released a video showing the appalling conditions Julian Assange is facing while under house arrest. In fact, the only differences I see between his enforced lifestyle and a blogger’s life is the daily sign-ins at the local police-station.
After being imprisoned for 10 days last December for alleged rape in Sweden, he was placed under house arrest so the government could ensure the world’s women’s safety. Or something. 191 days later, and he is still confined to “former army officer, journalist adventurer and rightwing libertarian” (as The Guardian describes him) Vaughn Smith’s house in Norfolk, England, despite not having been convicted for the so-called rape he’s been hauled through the hot coals for.
Whatever your feelings about Julian Assange and Wikileaks, it’s an interesting insight into how an electronic tagging device, worn by people are varied as Lindsay Lohan and Martha Stewart, affects your life. Not to mention the paranoia of Smith, who says three surveillance cameras have mysteriously been erected outside his house, that “are monitoring everything that goes in and out of the property.” [YouTube via The Telegraph]