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Julian Assange Released On Bail

Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has been released on bail with strict conditions.

The 39-year-old appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for a fresh bail appeal, backed by a host of celebrity supporters and hundreds of protesters.

He was granted conditional bail for £240,000, thanks in large part to an address being put forward where the Australian national could reside.

Vaughn Smith, a former Army captain who founded and runs the journalist Frontline Club, offered his 600-acre country estate as a bail address as well as a financial surety.

During a previous bail application a week ago it is thought the judge was unimpressed with a PO Box address in Australia which was put forward.

Other high-profile supporters in court included film director Ken Loach, heiress Jemima Khan, activist Bianca Jagger and journalist and campaigner John Pilger, who had all offered a surety during the first bail hearing a week ago.

Crowds of protesters, some dressed in Assange masks and carrying placards, gave a cheer when news filtered out, via Twitter, that Assange had been granted bail.

The group, positioned behind metal fencing across the road from the court, were lead by gay rights activist Peter Tatchell and Lindsey German of the Stop the War campaign group.

One protester brandished a placard reading: "Sweden, puppets of the US", while another read: "Exposing war crimes is not a crime".

Assange's lawyers have said it is unlikely the website founder will be released tonight.

Gemma Lindfield, the lawyer working for Sweden has already said she will be appealing the judge's decision, she has been given two hours to do so.

Assange has been in police custody since handing himself into police last week after an arrest warrant was issued in Sweden over allegations of sex offences.

In a statement given to his mother Christine from his cell at Wandsworth jail, Assange said: "My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed.

"This circumstance shall not shake them. If anything this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct.

"We now know that Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and others are instruments of US foreign policy. It's not something we knew before.

"I am calling for the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks."

The Swedish authorities are pressing to have the Australian extradited to Stockholm to face charges.

The decision to remand him in custody was made in spite of the offer surety from backers including Jemima Khan and Ken Loach.

The accusations against the former hacker include rape and molestation in one case and molestation and unlawful coercion in a second

Assange has denied the allegations, which he has claimed stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex".

District Judge Howard Riddle refused bail on the grounds that there was a risk that Assange would fail to surrender.

But Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens told Sky News he hopes that by providing judge with an address the police know and approve of, his client will be able to be released.

"Hopefully with the people who stood behind him last time coming along to court again we can persuade the judge on this occasion that he is perhaps the most identifiable person around at the moment and it would be difficult for him to go anywhere without being positively identified."

Today's court appearance comes as the latest WikiLeaks releases suggest British police helped "develop" evidence against Madeleine McCann's parents as they were being investigated by Portuguese authorities looking into their daughter's disappearance.

Kate and Gerry's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, told Sky News: "This is an entirely historic note that is more than three years old.

"Subsequently, Kate and Gerry had their arguido status lifted, with the Portuguese authorities making it perfectly clear that there was absolutely no evidence to implicate them in Madeleine's disappearance whatsoever.

"To this day, they continue to work tirelessly on the search for their daughter, co-operating when appropriate with both the Portuguese and British authorities."

The cables have also revealed that the US was concerned that the UK was struggling to cope with homegrown extremism in the wake of the July 7 bomb attacks in London.

Senior politicians say WikiLeaks has jeopardised US national security and diplomatic efforts around the world.

The case has become an international cause celebre as governments weigh up the damage to their reputations with the right to freedom of speech.

Around 15 supporters of the Justice for Assange Campaign gathered outside the Swedish Embassy in central London on Monday, wearing masks bearing Assange's face and gagging themselves with US flags.

Slogans on their banners included "political prisoner", "gagging the truth" and "honey trapped in Sweden".

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