Documents released by the US Government under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed what we’ve more or less known all along: The US really freaking hates Julian Assange. So much so that it has deemed him an enemy of the state.
The information comes from an investigation into an Air Force cyber systems analyst in Britain accused of attending pro-Wikileaks and Assange events. His charges included being suspected of “communicating with the enemy.” From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Declassified US Air Force counter-intelligence documents, released under US freedom-of-information laws, reveal that military personnel who contact Wikileaks or Wikileaks supporters may be at risk of being charged with “communicating with the enemy”, a military crime that carries a maximum sentence of death.
Assange is still in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has political asylum on the grounds that if he is extradited to Sweden, Sweden would then likely extradite him to the US, where he would face conspiracy and espionage charges. The designation of him as an enemy probably strengthens that logic. [SMH]
Image credit: AP