WikiLeaks Founder Accused of Rape and Molestation

The notorious founder of the WikiLeaks Web site, Julian Assange, already caught up in a row with the Pentagon over disclosure of secret military documents, was recently involved in yet another controversy, this time involving Swedish prosecutors who wanted to have a chat with him about allegations of rape and molestation.

The Swedes quickly reversed their position, however, and announced that the allegations of rape was unfounded. The sudden turnaround was yet another in many strange twists in the life of Mr. Assange, who has become more secretive about his whereabouts in recent weeks. The Obama administration has hinted that prosecution might be ahead for Mr. Assange owing to the release of about 77,000 classified Afghan war documents on the WikiLeaks site last month. Undeterred, the former computer hacker warned that his group would soon release 15,000 more documents.

Mr. Assange does harbor worries that the United States might try to put an end to his efforts. He was in Sweden in part to secure protection from the Swedish government as some of his sites are located in Sweden’s jurisdiction. Mr. Assange intimates that recent accusations were were payback for his activities, noting: “We were warned to expect ‘dirty tricks.’ Now we have the first one.”