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WikiLeaks founder seeks protection from Australian premier

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Julian Assange - Sputnik International
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The founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring him home, Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday.

The founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring him home, Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday.

"Julia Gillard should be taking active steps to bring me home and protect our people," the Australian journalist said in a recorded message.

"She [Gillard] should be contacting the U.S. embassy and demanding that it back off," Assange said.

The call comes just two days before the extradition hearings begin on the sexual abuse charges against Assange made by two Swedish women.

Assange denies the allegations and says the case is politically motivated.

He and his supporters fear that he may be extradited from Sweden to the United States, where he could face espionage charges.

The controversial website was nominated by a Norwegian lawmaker earlier this week for a Nobel Peace Prize for the role it has played in protecting human rights, democracy and freedom.

World leaders and diplomats have downplayed the impact of the leak of more than 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables by the WikiLeaks site, but many have questioned the benefit of the project, alleging that some of the leaks could "threaten lives."

LONDON, February 5 (RIA Novosti)

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