Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, commenting on the case of the founder of WikiLeaks at a briefing on Monday, called for the trial not of Julian Assange, but of a “hacker empire” that is “trying to hide its crimes.”
⠀
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva earlier called on everyone to stand up for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces extradition to the United States.
⠀
“It’s not Assange who exposed the truth, but the hacker empire that is spying and stealing secrets from all countries indiscriminately and trying its best to hide its crimes,” said Wang Wenbin.
⠀
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry officials repeatedly called the United States a “hacker empire.”
⠀
Assange, who is in a British prison, will file a new appeal to the High Court of London on Tuesday, his wife Stella Assange said earlier. She also expressed hope that her husband would not be extradited to the United States.
⠀
At the same time, the international human rights organization Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday that Assange’s previous appeal was rejected on June 6 on all counts. Thus, filing a new appeal will be “the last step in the UK courts”, since further proceedings will be possible only in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the organization said in a statement.
⠀
Assange faces 175 years in prison in the United States on charges of revealing the largest body of classified information in the history of the country. Now Assange is trying to appeal to the High Court in London an appeal against the decision to extradite him from the UK.
