WikiLeaks founder speaks to 7News
Mike Duffy for 7News, Yahoo!7 with ABC
December 17, 2010, 5:58 pm
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spoken exclusively to 7News, after being granted bail overnight at the High Court in London.
Mr Assange, who is wanted for questioning on sexual assault charges in Sweden, is at a friend's country house in Suffolk, where he must live until the start of his extradition hearing on February 7.
It is a far cry from the solitary confinement where he has spent the past nine days.
Mr Assange said his time in a London jail cell had made him more determined to continue his secret-spilling.
"It has not altered my position, in fact it has confirmed my position to me personally that we are on the right path," he said on Thursday after his release from jail.
The WikiLeaks founder has denied the Swedish charges against him and his legal team have said they are worried about the possibility of him being extradited to face possible espionage charges in the US.
The controversial identity and his mother, Christine, told 7News they have only won their first battle, in what is going to be a long war.
"It is good to have a break from the fight and enjoy the moment," Christine Assange said.
Throughout the proceedings Mr Assange maintained his famous icy-cool persona, but when he realised he had been granted bail he smiled and gave supporters in the courtroom a thumbs up.
"This is not the beginning of the end. It is the end of the beginning," he said.
For Mr Assange's mother, the release brings hope and worry.
As her son looks to his next crusade, she said: "The war's not over but this battle is".
In more good news for Mr Assange, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has not found any breaches of Australian law by WikiLeaks organisation.
"The AFP has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction," the force said in a statement released today.
"Where additional cables are published and criminal offences are suspected, these matters should be referred to the AFP for evaluation."
Attorney-General Robert McClelland says it was "prudent" for the Government to have referred the matter to the AFP.
WikiLeaks is currently releasing around 250,000 US diplomatic cables which have caused major embarrassment for the US and some of its allies.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has previously condemned Mr Assange's actions, calling them "illegal".
But she later moderated her language, saying it was the theft of the US cables that was the illegal act, while Mr Assange's role was "grossly irresponsible".
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Stephen Smith says a Defence taskforce has found WikiLeaks cables about Iraq released earlier in the year did not damage the national security interest.
Earlier this year WikiLeaks released batches of documents relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Defence had already said the leaked documents on Afghanistan did not damage Australia's interests.
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