President’s office says WikiLeaks founder did not face “immediate danger”, in response to Assange’s request for asylum.
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In an open letter to French President Francois Hollande published by Le Monde, the fugitive transparency activist said he is a victim of persecution by the USA government over exposure of its human rights violations and controversial practices. “An in-depth review shows that in view of the legal and material elements of Mr Assange’s situation, France can not grant his request”, the statement said. “He published an open letter in Le Monde to Hollande and the public”.
“In welcoming me, France would achieve a humanitarian but also probably symbolic gesture, sending encouragement to all the journalists and whistleblowers who, across the world, risk their lives on a daily basis in order to allow their fellow citizens to move another step closer to the truth”, he said.
Julian Assange, founder of WiKiLeaks has been of key importance in regards to leaks of government documents, cables and videos since 2006 post the launch of the site. “I am a journalist who has been pursued and threatened with death by U.S. authorities because of my professional activities”, Assange wrote.
“The scale of the scandal and the reactions that followed our latest revelations confirmed the legitimacy of our approach”, he wrote.
The Australian has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.
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The ex- computer hacker fears extradition to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States to face trial over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified U.S. military and diplomatic documents. In his letter to Mr Hollande Mr Assange noted that WikiLeaks had last month revealed that the US National Security Agency spied on the French president and his two predecessors.
