Assange: transparency is ‘not for individuals’
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lashed out at a British daily for publishing parts of a Swedish police report detailing the rape allegations against him.
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Speaking by telephone from Britain to Brazil’s Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, Assange accused Britain’s The Guardian newspaper of being manipulated and improperly making public details of the case.
Assange said The Guardian’s reporter “chosen to receive the information (about the rape allegations) was a known critic of our organization.
“The Guardian didn’t ask why these documents were made available before a court hearing. What were the motives? These are questions that haven’t been answered,” Assange told the daily.
A week ago, The Guardian printed details of the Swedish rape and sexual molestation inquiry against Assange, saying it had access to documents relating to the case. It denied allegations made by Assange elsewhere that it had selectively published sections of the documents.
Assange argued that he and other individuals should not be held to the same standard his whistleblowing website leveled at governments and officials whose secrets WikiLeaks is revealing.
“Transparency is for governments. Not for individuals. The aim of revealing information about powerful people is to make them responsible. When a government gives legal material to a newspaper to prejudice someone, that is an abuse,” he said in the interview, published in Portuguese.