In the short film, released to mark six months since his first arrest, Sarah Harrison from WikiLeaks shows one of three traffic monitoring cameras that have been installed outside entrances to the Norfolk property where Assange is living.
Ellingham Hall owner Vaughan Smith says in the video: 'I'm not an expert on cameras but I believe these take number plates and record number plates. I think the country's full of them. But I don't know why I need quite so many around my house.'
Scroll down for video
Fed up Julian Assange has been under house arrest since December last year, and is obliged to report to the police station every day as well as wear an electronic tag
Assange has been under house arrest since December last year, and is obliged to report to the police station every day as well as wear an electronic tag.
The WikiLeaks founder said his house arrest had been 'the single largest impediment to our work, with the possible exception of the illegal blockade being conducted by the major U.S. financial institutions against us'
Assange faces charges of sexual assault in Sweden and is currently fighting against his extradition there.
His former lawyer Mark Stephens, who did not know about the video release, said: 'The restrictions on him are unduly burdensome. I have felt for some time that they were unduly restrictive.
'Were someone other than Julian Assange who was in the same position, they would not be subject to the same restrictions.'
He said that Assange, who is now being represented by veteran human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce, can apply to have his bail conditions reviewed.
Assange, who roamed the globe before his arrest in December, said that he had become 'a fixed target' for snoopers.
'It is easy to conduct surveillance against me and anyone I talk to,' Assange said. 'We take steps against this, but it is costly and time-consuming.'
He said his house arrest had been 'the single largest impediment to our work, with the possible exception of the illegal blockade being conducted by the major U.S. financial institutions against us.'
Some U.S.-based banks and financial services have refused to handle payments to WikiLeaks.
U.S. authorities are investigating whether Assange and WikiLeaks violated American laws by releasing tens of thousands of secret government documents, including daily logs from the Iraq war and classified diplomatic cables from U.S. missions around the world.
Prosecutors have convened a grand jury near Washington to investigate the WikiLeaks disclosures.
Assange said: 'A lot of our resources are tied up in dealing with the situation in the United States and the grand jury and this Swedish extradition case and the banking blockade placed on us by Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America and so on.
'So, while we are still producing publications every day, a lot of those resources have been taken away to deal with these events.'
Assange is set to appeal against his extradition to Sweden at the High Court on July 12.
He said that if he lost the appeal, he could go to Britain's Supreme Court or the European Court of Human Rights. He said he was confident he would be cleared.
'I feel that the Swedish authorities will drop the case,' Assange said. When asked why, he replied only that 'there are many players in the Swedish situation'.
Swedish prosecutors did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004560/Julian-Assange-bemoans-bail-conditions-led-electronic-tagging-months-arrest.html#ixzz1PXtGjoS7
No comments:
Post a Comment