Wednesday, January 12, 2011 08:19:00

 

TONY EASTLEY: Lawyers for Julian Assange say they fear that their client will be given the death penalty if he is sent to the United States where prosecutors are building a case against him.

Mr Assange appeared before Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London overnight fighting against attempts to have him extradited to Sweden where he's facing sexual assault charges.

Here's Europe correspondent Emma Alberici.

(sound of cameras clicking)

EMMA ALBERICI: The world's media were out in force to greet Julian Assange as he arrived at the high security Belmarsh Magistrates' Court.

The WikiLeaks founder was before the judge for just ten minutes. His defence team was granted permission to hand their 35 pages of legal argument to the media.

District Judge Nicholas Evans also told Mr Assange that he could stay in London during his extradition hearing next month, instead of having to commute three hours to Norfolk each night, where he's under house arrest as a condition of his bail.

JULIAN ASSANGE: We are happy about today's outcome...

EMMA ALBERICI: Julian Assange has raised the ire of American authorities after publishing thousands of classified US government cables through his WikiLeaks website.

US prosecutors are now thought to be building a case against him after demanding details about the Twitter accounts of Mr Assange, his supporters and Private Bradley Manning, the army intelligence analyst in custody who's suspected of supplying WikiLeaks with the secret documents.

JULIAN ASSANGE: Our work with WikiLeaks continues unabated and we are stepping up our publishing for matters related to Cablegate.

EMMA ALBERICI: Swedish authorities are attempting to have the 39-year-old whistleblower extradited on sexual assault charges.

Included in the legal arguments against extradition, are revelations that one of the women who claims she was raped by Mr Assange sent a text message stating that she was half asleep when she was forced to have sex with him.

The other woman in the case is said to have written a blog explaining how to take legal revenge against an ex lover.

Primarily the defence documents argue that the case is a pretext for a criminal prosecution in the United States, which has the prospect of landing Julian Assange in an electric chair.

His lawyer Mark Stevens says Sweden has a history of sending people to foreign jurisdictions, where they then face torture.

MARK STEVENS: America still is in the appalling state of affairs of having the death penalty and we haven't got an undertaking from Sweden that they won't extradite him to the United States of America and so in those circumstances it becomes very unfair to ask him to go to Sweden for questioning.

EMMA ALBERICI: If, as Mr Assange asserts, there's no case to answer here, why doesn't he just go and get questioned in Sweden?

MARK STEVENS: The Swedish authorities haven't yet given any firm commitment that they won't render him or permit him to be rendered either to Guantanamo Bay or some other place of America's choosing, which puts him beyond the realms of proper justice.

EMMA ALBERICI: Julian Assange recently signed a $1.5 million publishing deal to write his memoirs.

This is Emma Alberici in London for AM.

TESTS TAPESCRIPTS

TEST 1

Israel kills 17 in response to Palestinian attacks

AM - Wednesday, 16 January, 2008 08:16:00

Reporter: David Hardaker

TONY EASTLEY: The Gaza Strip has seen its bloodiest day for more than a year with Israeli forces killing 17 Palestinians, including three civilians.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced Israel's attacks as a massacre and a slap in the face to efforts to resume peace-making.

Israel says it was acting to defend itself against continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

Middle East Correspondent, David Hardaker reports.

DAVID HARDAKER: It's only been four days since US President George W Bush left Israel and the West Bank after promoting peace talks.

It was widely predicted that Israel would wait until his departure to increase its attacks on the Gaza Strip and so it came to pass: an attack which left close to 20 dead and dozens severely wounded.

Among the dead was the son of Mahmoud al-Zahar, who's a founding member of the Hamas movement and one of its most militant leaders. For him the political became very personal.

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR: This is one of the results of Bush visit. He encouraged the Israeli to kill the Palestinian people and we are going to defend ourselves by all means.

DAVID HARDAKER: The deaths came during an Israeli air and ground operation on the eastern side of Gaza City.

Israel says it took the action to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into the border town of Sderot - and beyond.

Hamas has taken responsibility for a barrage of rockets over the last 24 hours.

Israel government spokesman Mark Regev:

MARK REGEV: Only today, an innocent farmer was murdered by gunfire from the Gaza Strip. And unfortunately, every day over the last weeks and months we've had continuous terrorist activities - mortar shells, rockets, small arms fire. And it's our obligation to do what we can to protect our people.

DAVID HARDAKER: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas denounced what he called the massacre and butchery of the Palestinian people.

(Mahmoud Abbas speaking)

"We say to the world and to Israel we can't remain silent about crimes such as these. In no way whatsoever can it bring peace," he said.

But Mr Abbas is in a difficult position. He's been embraced by the US President and Palestinians have watched as he's shaken hands and smiled with Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.

In the eyes of many Palestinians, it means Mr Abbas has become a traitor to the Palestinian cause.

Hamas leaders said as much today, of the man known as Abu Mazen.

Mahmoud al-Zahar:

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR: This is the hope of Abu Mazen and his colleagues. They collaborate with Israel and the spies of America.

(Ismail Haniyeh speaking)

DAVID HARDAKER: "Shame on those who shake hands with occupation leaders, who sit with the occupier during these crimes and massacres," said former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh

This is David Hardaker in Jerusalem, reporting for AM.

 

TEST 2