Wikileaks founder Julian Assange talks about escaping embassy | 60 Minutes Australia

Julian Assange has fame and some very powerful enemies. He has now been hiding in the Ecuadorian

embassy

in London for over a year. The WikiLeaks

founder

is trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over rape allegations. He thinks it's a ploy. send him to the US to stand trial for the publication of hundreds of thousands of top secret documents last week. US soldier Bradley Manning, who leaked military and diplomatic files to Wikileaks, was convicted of espionage and now faces up to 136 years in prison. Julian Assange fears being next in line

julian

assange

is the most famous asylum seeker in the world everything takes refuge inside the Ecuadorian

embassy

yes, surely he would make it from Australia sixty

minutes

to here to do it right the

founder

of WikiLeaks fled here to the Ecuadorian embassy in London just over a year ago after a British court accepted his extradition to Sweden now under heavy surveillance his world has been reduced to just a few small rooms do you feel imprisoned?

No, I'm a little institutionalized. There are police. Do you have a view from every window? in the embassy, ​​even in the interior firewalls, they hide behind the bathroom window. I mean, it's a bit absurd, this seems a bit far-fetched for a not-so-tanned Aussie. Inside, outside there is an extraordinary police presence 24 hours a day, ready to pounce if Julian Assange tries to escape this operation has so far cost more than six million dollars police at the main gate inside the embassy entrance even more police there's a communications ban right across the street and around the corner here's more There's even a police officer stationed inside that glass staircase.

Have you never contemplated how to escape? Contemplate every mind you know and look for all the options. I came back to the truck here tonight and said, Julien jumps. I think we can get you out. Interesting. We had to do something and Christmas decided it was best not to do it for various reasons but to bring in 12 Santas and then take out 13, he can laugh about it but if Sanj leaves this building he will be arrested and put on a plane. Sweden, where he fears authorities will hand him over to the United States government. Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Julian Assange on suspicion of assault and rape.

Assange's life took a serious turn when the Swedish press announced that the police wanted to question him about the rape of two young women. I can't tell you what it's like to wake up one day and see millions of websites saying that you are rapists. Millions, how do you react to that? It was the worst experience, I think the worst experience I've ever had. What I had in my life was seeing that waking up one morning and seeing the Swedish tabloids reporting that there was a manhunt a manhunt for a violent double rapist a manhunt the case against a sound began when the women he had had sex with went to the police. police to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Assange has never been accused of any crime. Are you clearer about why the women he met in Sweden have made accusations against him? They have not made the accusations against him. That is incorrect. Everything that is stated. Yes, I mean this is a case that was taken by the Swedish state. It is in the Greek facts in the increase in the Supreme Court in the High Court. You know, you know me, they asked for advice about STDs and the police then took that. Do you think this is purely and simply politics at play? You don't know it for women who feel there has been an injustice.

The case has been politicized. They say they never intend to press charges. There are no charges. Revelations like these tear at the fabric of the situation. responsible government we are looking at all the things we can do to stop the flow of this information, whatever happens between Assange and the women, the accusations against him were a gift to the US government, the guy who runs the website is a sleazeball named one Julian Assange who was angry about WikiLeaks revealing his secret files, that sounds like good news to me. Robert Gates, you, Secretary of Defense when I was arrested and imprisoned without charge in a Swedish case, told the press, I think it's good news. a great smile.

You have no doubt that the opinion of my American lawyers is that there is already a sealed indictment and we must behave as if that assumption were correct, since a man who spent his life in constant movement and confined to one place has not been easy to Born in Townsville he attended over 30 schools his nomadic existence was inevitable while his mother traveled with her small theater company to keep the family afloat you always knew you were different why I was always the new kid because we were involved in a theater traveling at the age of 13 he got his hands on his first computer, a Commodore 64, this was the place where his world was really exciting when he was 17 Assange had become a hacker, as he was later portrayed in the underground film, broke into some of the most secure governments and militaries in the world. systems, you know, I wouldn't say it's breaking, it's a bit like people exploring the drainage system that exists under Sydney and Melbourne, you don't break anything, it's a matter of being smart, the fact is that you pleaded guilty to , I think, 24 counts of hacking, yes I am, I am NOT clear of what I did then, but after having participated in all that exploration of why I really hacked, I began to see the structure of these organizations and the behavior of these military organizations and what I thought I didn't like and that's when you started to become an activist.

I guess that planted the seeds. Those first seeds became WikiLeaks, an organization that would soon shake the foundations of governments around the world. He gained international attention when he released a classified video of a US helicopter attack on a group of civilians and journalists in Iraq, if you get this footage, give it to us without asking questions and you will help change history further. Following Iraq was a bloodbath around every corner. 75,000 US military records from the war. in Afghanistan and 250,000 diplomatic cables, many of which contain highly embarrassing descriptions of US allies and world leaders. The main suspect is Bradley Manning, 22 years old.

Much of the information was leaked by American soldier Bradley Manning. He was found guilty this week of espionage and now faces life in prison. prison bradley manning is a hero we should say it very clearly he is a hero do you have sleepless nights from breaking many? I'm not the type to toss and turn worrying about something. I'm not sleeping because I'm plotting how to deal with the situation, but the vehicle you provided, treating Bradley Manning like he is now, if it weren't for the fact that our posts, absolutely as a human being does, cause you any level of distress, it's just that we see it. as someone with whom we share a destiny, as someone who is supposedly one of our sources, we have some kind of duty to care for him.

Assange, absolutely senior advisor to the Central Intelligence Agency, is now helping new whistleblower Edward Snowden, an American intelligence analyst now. on the run after revealing a top-secret global surveillance program. He could be, you know, played by the CIA. It could make people come after me and that is a fear I will live under for the rest of my life, however long that may be. Assange has a very personal interest in the fate of Manning and Snowden the dead man can't leak this guy is a traitor he fears that whatever happens to them you must treat her like an enemy combatant it will happen to him close it close it and others who receive and they publish sensitive material well, I think Assange should be murdered, in fact, illegally shooting the son of a and that near McCarthy there is absolute hysteria calling for my murder, calling for the kidnapping of our staff, introducing bills in Congress to declare enemy to all our personnel.

The fighters there could be killed at will rather than actually doing it, the problem is not just the rednecks, if you know these people, when they consider something to be so serious and all options are on the table, the Australian Federal Police will will provide to the government. with some tips on the possible criminal conduct of the individual involved, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not been a fan of yours at all, you know, to put it mildly, what does she know? Kevin Rudd's opinion of you. I don't expect much attention. In that regard, you couldn't be worse than Gillard when it comes to WikiLeaks, it's hard, it's hard to imagine there being a worse Prime Minister, so if Tony Abbott was Prime Minister, that wouldn't be good for you either.

I would not do it. I think it will be good for anyone, so it's quite interesting in terms of Rods close to the Pacific Solution, now Julian Assange wants to take on the politicians at his own game, running for the Senate in the next election. Rudd is making people in Papua New Guinea bewildered. him in a state where all the refugees from West Papua are the Australian people and they will get it if they don't vote for you anymore. I mean, when you turn on the riot light, the cockroaches will scurry away and that's what we have to do in Canberra.

Assange has launched the party WikiLeaks is based on a platform of truth and transparency, why do you think you will be able to do what you would say so many others have not done well? I am a human being, I don't want to. I say there are difficulties for everyone but you know my best attribute my worst attribute is that I am extremely stubborn and that has allowed the WikiLeaks organization to go head to head with this Pentagon with the CIA with the Department of Justice with the Blancos House and we faced them successfully. Assange says he has been planning a political career for the past two years, although he admits he has not always been involved in Australian politics.

He voted in the last election, the last one, the sieve, which yes, I don't believe. What a shame, you want to be part of Australia's political terrain and you didn't know it had some things there. There is an obvious impediment in terms of choosing you. You are here at the Embassy of Ecuador. How are you? you are going to serve the people if you are elected there is a mechanism July next year is when I would take the seat then there is a two month grace period after the two month grace period the Senate can choose to extend it if they don't then we can putting another of our people there, one of the other WikiLeaks candidates to fill the position until I can return and when that will be is the big question: the conviction of Bradley Manning this week has meant that it is more likely that From that Assange, in fact all the editors and journalists could be prosecuted for exposing government secrets, which means that Julian Assange is unlikely to leave this embassy anytime soon, so you haven't gone crazy, no There have been days when you thought I just can't. do this more there are moments there have been about four moments you know where you think this this situation oh my god this is this is absurd how is this how is this happening and you know I miss fishing and my family and my kids but um it happens why how long can you do it?

I think if you are diligent you can do these things forever. Hi, I'm Liz Hayes, thanks for watching to stay up to date with the latest news from 60 Minutes Australia. Make sure to subscribe to our channel. You can also download the 9 Now app to watch full episodes and other exclusive 60 Minutes content.