Difficult, paranoid, and polarising: Dissecting the contradiction that is Julian Assange

In the years Julian Assange lived successful Ecuador’s London embassy, from erstwhile the state embraced his asylum assertion successful 2012 until they evicted him (“We’ve ended the asylum of this spoiled brat”) 7 years later, the Wikileaks laminitis was nether changeless surveillance. Cameras recorded the comings and goings of lawyers, friends, and personage acolytes that included Lady Gaga, Bianca Jagger, and erstwhile Baywatch prima Pamela Anderson.

The footage would marque fascinating viewing. Tales abound of his beingness successful those cramped rooms, wherever the Queenslander fled to debar a intersexual battle probe successful Sweden. From determination helium released documents that influenced US elections, waged a ineligible conflict for his freedom, and lived alongside progressively hostile Ecuadorian embassy unit whose content successful the value of his crusade gave mode to exasperated demands that helium wage for his ain nutrient and laundry, cleanable the bathroom, and tidy up aft his cat.

Assange spent those 7 years successful a authorities of changeless hypervigilance; but then, the one-time teen machine hacker had been looking implicit his enarthrosis for astir of his life. He kept the blinds closed during the time successful lawsuit of spies, bought a achromatic sound instrumentality to drown retired his conversations, and had a brace of handcuffs acceptable to affix himself to the consul if determination was a raid. His chamber did not person cameras, but was apt fitted with listening devices. His erstwhile lawyer who became his wife, Stella Assange, wrote backstage messages connected a portion of paper. “That’s however I told Julian I was pregnant,” she told Britain’s Sunday Times.

Julian Assange stands connected the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador with Reverend Jesse Jackson. The embassy unit recovered him a hard housemate.Credit: AP

As the Ecuadorians learnt during those hard 7 years, Assange is simply a difficult, paranoid, and polarising character. To some, helium is an inspiration; a warrior for transparency and escaped speech, who has courageously taken connected planetary superpowers and endured heavy suffering for his principles. To others, he’s prideful and self-absorbed; a antheral who demands information from powerfulness yet weaponises information, disregards the payment of others yet claims victimhood, and holds radical to relationship portion avoiding accountability for himself.

“We’re each flawed characters and Julian is conscionable 1 of those,” says Peter Greste, a seasoned Australian newsman who is present a prof of journalism astatine Macquarie University. “You tin criticise and respect him astatine the aforesaid time.”

In the combat for Assange’s freedom, which was yet achieved this week erstwhile the United States dropped each but 1 of its 18 espionage charges against him, determination was an effort by immoderate to disregard the messier parts of his story; arsenic 1 MP wrote, “many of the arguments against Assange person been discounted implicit time.” It shows however hard it is, successful the modern governmental discourse, to advocator for a flawed man, and to marque the statement that portion Assange whitethorn beryllium blameworthy of crimes of quality and judgment, helium could inactive person been unfairly persecuted for espionage.

Assange was arrested by British constabulary erstwhile helium near the Ecuadorian embassy successful 2019, and has spent the past 5 years warring extradition to the United States. An eclectic radical of Australian MPs, and the Albanese government, felt that was agelong enough. “If the Justice Department is seeking a consciousness of retribution, that’s already been achieved by the magnitude of clip Assange has been successful jail,” said Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce earlier a lobbying travel to Washington precocious past year. “I don’t cognize if I’d similar him if I met him, but this is astir the law.”

Assange was calved successful Townsville, a mining and larboard municipality successful bluish Queensland. His parent Christine, a puppeteer, reportedly fell large to his father, John Shipton, astatine an anti-Vietnam War rally successful 1970 (Assange did not conscionable Shipton until helium was successful his 20s).

Throughout his childhood, the household travelled the state (Assange took the sanction of his theatre manager stepfather). He was educated astatine 35 antithetic schools and astatine times taught astatine location by a parent who believed, she told the New Yorker successful 2010, that ceremonial acquisition would pb to an unhealthy respect for authorization successful her children. “I didn’t privation their spirits broken,” she told the magazine. Christine agelong rejected suggestions that Assange had Asperger’s Syndrome, a signifier of autism, but Stella confirmed it successful The Sunday Times. “Julian is connected the spectrum,” she said.

Assange loved speechmaking subject books and penning programs connected his Commodore 64. By his teens helium was a blase hacker and joined a radical known arsenic the International Subversives. He hacked large networks but besides became paranoid astir being caught.

Young hacker: Julian Assange extracurricular tribunal successful 1995 aft being accused of hacking into planetary machine systems.Credit: The Age

“Mendax [Assange’s online name] dreamed of constabulary raids each the time,” says a 2011 book, Underground, that Assange co-authored. “He dreamed of footsteps crunching connected the driveway grave, of shadows successful the predawn darkness, of a gun-toting constabulary squad bursting done his backdoor astatine 5am.” Eventually, his fears came true. He was inactive a teen erstwhile Australian Federal Police charged him with 31 counts of hacking and related crimes; helium pleaded blameworthy to 25, and had to wage $2100 damages.

Around this time, Assange had a son, Daniel, who is present an big and has changed his name. It’s unclear however galore children Assange has; successful summation to the 2 calved during his incarceration, helium has referred to having 1 successful France. In a portion written for the London Review of Books successful 2014, writer Andrew O’Hagan, a three-time Booker Prize nominee who was hired to ghost-write a biography, quotes Assange’s past woman Sarah asking whether helium had been contiguous for the births of each his children. “All but one,” helium replies (he watched the commencement of his archetypal lad with Stella implicit livestream successful the Ecuadorian Embassy).

In 2006, Assange and a radical of activists and dissidents founded Wikileaks, a website that published documents governments wanted kept private. It links backmost to Assange’s involvement successful science, a subject successful which academics people their research. He believed the nationalist should person afloat entree to earthy sources, alternatively than the edited, analysed mentation they spot successful newspapers. In his caller combat against extradition to the US Assange claimed to beryllium journalist, but helium has besides held the assemblage successful contempt. “We travel not to prevention journalism, but to destruct it,” helium said successful 2017. “Doesn’t merit to live. Too debased.”

Wikileaks was little of an organisation than an insurgency. There was nary caput office; Assange would roam the world, acrophobic of being followed by US spies oregon investigators funded by corporations, and is said to person moved betwixt eastbound Africa and Europe for years, seldom staying successful 1 spot for much than a fewer days. The website utilized a analyzable bid of servers and an encrypted pipeline to guarantee secrecy and forestall accusation from being taken offline.

It published leaked documents from 2006, but its biggest scoop came successful 2010, with the merchandise of United States’ subject footage of a US chopper firing connected civilians, dubbed Collateral Murder, followed by classified documents astir to the wars successful Afghanistan and Iraq and a 4th of a cardinal diplomatic cables. The Americans were furious. It caused them heavy embarrassment and superior diplomatic headaches, arsenic good arsenic interest for the information of radical named successful the documents.

Wikileaks has been criticised for not redacting names to support people’s information oregon for failing to supply discourse for the documents, arsenic newsrooms that adhere to journalists’ codes of morals would person done (and did, erstwhile Assange collaborated with The New York Times and The Guardian). That’s wherefore galore reason Assange is not a journalist. But the merchandise of the documents did exposure a shameful concealed that a superpower wanted to hide, and that – holding information to powerfulness – is simply a cardinal tenant of journalism.

“I disagree with immoderate of what Wikileaks released, but I besides perfectly applaud a batch of what they released, which exposed grounds of crimes and abuses by the American subject successful Afghanistan and Iraq,” says Greste, who was detained successful an Egyptian situation portion reporting for al-Jazeera. “We tin clasp these contrary truths together; that it was vitally important … portion not agreeing with everything Wikileaks did.”

As his planetary fame grew aft Collateral Murder, and celebrities specified arsenic British socialite Jemima Khan flocked to his cause, Assange went to Stockholm successful precocious 2010. Two women accused him of sexually assaulting them during his trip. Both said they agreed to enactment but lone connected the ground that helium utilized a condom; 1 alleged helium initiated enactment without a condom portion she slept, and the different that helium deliberately broke a condom during sex. He has ever denied some allegations.

Swedish authorities wanted him extradited from Britain for questioning (he was ne'er charged with anything). His lawyers claimed the accusations were politically motivated, and Assange reportedly told friends helium was convinced the United States was down Sweden’s extradition attempts. When Assange was detained for a proceeding successful Britain, filmmaker John Pilger, manager Ken Loach, and Khan offered to screen his bail. He was released connected the information helium unrecorded with different affluent backer astatine Ellingham Hall manor (the probe has been dropped by Swedish authorities; portion they accidental the alleged victims were credible, the transition of clip has weakened evidence).

O’Hagan’s effort connected Assange focuses connected this play astatine the manor, erstwhile Assange agreed to enactment successful a biography. The Wikileaks laminitis lived determination with a rag-tag clump of supporters, staying up each nighttime and sleeping fractional the day, speechmaking everything that was written astir him, wearing an physics bracelet connected his ft and getting his woman Sarah to cheque for assassins successful the bushes extracurricular the constabulary presumption earlier helium entered for his regular check-in.

O’Hagan observed the contradiction that is Julian Assange. There was what helium called the cult-leader facet – “his pridefulness could engulf the country successful flames,” helium wrote – and yet, helium was inactive compelled by Assange’s story. “What Julian lacked successful ratio oregon professionalism, helium made up for successful courage.” O’Hagan besides realised that Assange did not privation to constitute a biography, successful portion due to the fact that helium shied distant from looking wrong himself. “The antheral who enactment himself successful complaint of disclosing the world’s secrets simply couldn’t carnivore his own,” helium wrote.

WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange walks crossed the tract astatine Ellingham Hall successful Norfolk.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images

In 2013, longtime protagonist Jemima Khan besides began to question the Assange mythology, and warned that helium mightiness go a modern-day L. Ron Hubbard (the laminitis of Scientology). “I person seen flashes of Assange’s charm, brilliance and insightfulness – but I person besides seen however instantaneous rock-star presumption has the powerfulness to marque adjacent the astir clear-headed idealist consciousness that they are supra the instrumentality and exempt from criticism,” she wrote successful the New Statesman.

While the accusations of intersexual battle mightiness not beryllium substantiated successful court, she wrote, “I person travel to the decision that these are each matters for Swedish owed process and that Assange is undermining some himself and his ain transparency docket – arsenic good arsenic doing the US section of justness a favour – by making his refusal to reply questions successful Sweden into a quality rights contented ... the women successful question person quality rights, too.”

Assange had been surviving successful the Ecuadorian embassy for 4 years erstwhile Wikileaks released different trove of documents that galore reason influenced the effect of the 2016 predetermination successful favour of Donald Trump, a determination that galore judge was little the disclosure of accusation for nationalist involvement than an effort by Assange to thwart the statesmanlike ambitions of a pistillate helium profoundly disliked.

The emails showed Democratic Party officials, up of Hillary Clinton’s nomination, scoffing astatine her rival Bernie Sanders and his supporters. A US authorities study aboriginal recovered that successful the lead-up to the leak Assange wanted a Republican win, telling members and associates of Wikileaks that Clinton was “a bright, well-connected, sadistic sociopath”.

The Mueller Report besides recovered that successful October 2016, Wikileaks sent a nonstop connection to Donald Trump Jr, asking “you guys” to assistance disseminate a nexus alleging campaigner Clinton had advocated utilizing a drone to people Assange; portion Assange had “made respective nationalist statements” that wrongly implicated murdered Democratic staffer Seth Rich successful the leaking of the damaging documents “apparently” to disguise the source.

But it was Collateral Murder that remained unfinished concern for the United States. It had laid nary charges erstwhile Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy successful 2012. The archetypal came successful 2018, followed by 17 much alleging violations of the Espionage enactment successful 2019 (the aforesaid period helium was evicted from the Embassy). A British justice refused a bid to person him extradited to the United States, saying his metallic wellness was excessively fragile, but helium remained down bars due to the fact that helium was a formation risk. The decisions triggered entreaty aft appeal. Assange sat successful Belmarsh situation for 5 years.

Julian Assnage owes his state to women similar his woman Stella, who joined him portion helium was successful prison.Credit: Getty

Assange has been criticised for his behaviour towards women (he has criticised Sweden’s “crazed extremist feminist ideology”). Yet, it was 2 powerful, awesome women who fought for his eventual release. One was his long-time lawyer, Australian barrister Jennifer Robinson. The different was his wife, Stella, an articulate, passionate, erstwhile Rhodes student who grew up successful South Africa, wherever her parents were portion of the anti-apartheid movement. They met successful 2011, erstwhile Assange was astatine the tallness of his fame. “To my caput helium was an humanities figure,” she told the Times. They joined successful 2022; Vivienne Westwood designed her dress.

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For years, Robinson and Stella Assange person advocated for Assange. Stella has fixed interviews, met politicians, had an assemblage with the pope. She was his main spokeswoman arsenic helium flew to the US land of Saipan this week, successful a backstage pitchy erstwhile chartered by vocalist Taylor Swift, wherever helium pleaded blameworthy to a azygous Espionage Act offence and was released connected clip served, successful a plea woody negotiated by his lawyers.

For the archetypal clip successful her matrimony and their children’s lives, the 4 volition beryllium capable to unrecorded unneurotic arsenic a family. They’ve asked for privacy, and for Assange to beryllium fixed clip to set to freedom. But ticker this space. Assange is simply a restless, driven antheral who is utilized to wielding power and being successful the spotlight. This whitethorn beryllium the opening of a caller chapter. “I can’t talk for Julian, but he’s ne'er struck maine arsenic the benignant of quality to beryllium softly and spell and play play each day,” says Greste.

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