Biden says “high-tech terrorist” Assange to face prosecution in America

LONDON - Terming Wikileaks founder Julian Assange a “high-tech terrorist”, US Vice President Joe Biden has said that the journalist is facing prosecution in America for leaking secret cables.

The Telegraph quoted Biden as saying that officials in the US Justice Department were actively exploring ways to prosecute Assange in America over his whistleblower website’s leaks.

On being asked whether he thought that the Wikileaks founder was a high-tech terrorist or a whistleblower akin to those who released the controversial Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War, Biden said: “I would argue that it’s closer to being high-tech terrorist.”

He is the first senior member of the US administration who has openly admitted that efforts are already underway in Washington to bring charges against Assange, who is currently on bail in Britain facing extradition to Sweden on unrelated sexual assault charges.

The allegations have been made by two Swedish women, but Assange maintains his innocence in both cases.

Last week, the 39-year-old Australian had said it was likely that the US would try to extradite him to face charges related over the leaked cables.

The paper quoted Assange’s lawyers as saying that the attempt to extradite him to Sweden constitute little more than a “holding charge” in order to buy time for US prosecutors as they seek to pursue him. (ANI)