Assange Defence Fund Backed By Pilger And Others

A fund has been set up for the legal defence of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, backed by leading investigative journalists.

The Julian Assange Defence Fund was announced on Twitter today, and will be used to defend Assange against  legal actions in the US and Sweden, and may be used to assist with future bail conditions – Assange was bailed yesterday for £240,000 -. It has been described in detail in a document held on the site of law firm Finer Stephens Innocent.

Investigative journalists back the fund

Funding for Assange and WikiLeaks has been a problem since the group’s Swiss bank account was frozen, prompting reprisals from the Anonymous hacker group against the banker, PostFinance, as well as PayPal, MasterCard and Visa, all of whom stopped processing payments for the whistleblowing site.

The new fund has clearly been designed to avoid any legal difficulties or having its own funds seized, and has published detailed terms and conditions. It is managed by a committee of “at least three members”, currently consisting of veteran investigative journalist John Pilger, Gavin Mcfadyen who is director of the London Centre for Investigative Journalism and a professor at City University, as well as Susan Benn.

Payments to the fund can be anonymous, although contributors may wish to give their details, in case the fund wants to repay them. It is not a charity, so donations can’t get gift aid tax relief.

Payment details for the fund are being widely circulated, so donors can place money there directly, without going through third parties such as PayPal. The fund will be administered by accountants Hazlems Fenton.

Julian  Assange was released on bail yesterday and has vowed that WikiLeaks will continue publishing documents.

The BBC has listed his sureties providers as Australian journalist Phillip Knightley, publisher Felix Dennis, Nobel-prize winning scientist Sir John Sulston, Labour peer Lord Matthew Evans and Prof Patricia David.

Source: Mark Stephens, solicitor