THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says she doesn't want her son to be "hunted down and jailed", after international police organisation Interpol issued an arrest request this morning.
The Australian was added to the organisation's "wanted" list for alleged sex crimes committed in Sweden this year as his activist website continued its US diplomatic cables leaks.
Christine Assange, who lives on the Sunshine Coast, told ABC Radio she was "very distressed" about the news.
"He's my son and I love him and obviously I don't want him hunted down and jailed.
"I'm reacting as any mother would - I'm distressed," she said, adding that "a lot of stuff that's written about me and Julian is untrue" when asked about whether she had moved to Queensland from Melbourne to escape media attention.
Mr Assange is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion, after an investigation by Swedish prosecutors into his encounters with two women in Sweden in August.
The arrest request, called a "Red Notice", is "not an international arrest warrant" but means Mr Assange could be arrested and extradited to Sweden from any country if local authorities act on it.
"Many of Interpol's member countries consider a Red Notice to be a valid request for provisional arrest," Interpol said on its website.
Mr Assange, 39, is contesting the warrant in a Swedish appeals court.
He has denied the accusations, with his British lawyer Mark Stephens saying last month that they were "false and without basis". >>> Glenda Kwek | Wednesday, December 01, 2010
lePARISIEN.fr: WikiLeaks : la mère de Julian Assange prend la défense de son fils – Le fondateur de WikiLeaks ne cause pas seulement des tracas aux dirigeants et diplomates de la plupart des pays du monde. Son sort inquiète aussi sa maman. La mère de l'Australien Julian Assange, sous le coup d'un ordre d'arrestation émis par la Suède, a en effet imploré mercredi qu'on ne «pourchasse» pas son fils. >>> | Mercredi 01 Decembre 2010
HERALD SUN: WIKILEAKS editor-in-chief Julian Assange might be unpopular with the US and its allies, but he's still mummy's little boy.
Mr Assange's mother, Christine, who doesn't even own a computer and has been keeping up with her son's exploits through the media, said her son was a "seeker of truth".
Ms Assange, who bought Julian his first computer at age 13, said her son had been a curious child, raised to believe evil flourished when good men did nothing.
"Whether you agree with what Julian does or not, living by what you believe in and standing up for something is a good thing," she said.
"He sees what he's doing as doing a good thing in the world, fighting baddies, if you like."
But she conceded she feared her 39-year-old son had "gotten too smart for himself".
"Of course, I'm his mother, he's my little boy," she said.
"I'm just a normal mother. Whatever a normal mother would feel is what I would feel about all of it.
"I'm concerned it's gotten too big and the forces that he's challenging are too big." >>> Kristen Shorten | Thursday, December 02, 2010
