EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is ineligible to stand in the WA Senate byelection. Photo: AFP

The WikiLeaks Party has chosen a Schapelle Corby conspiracy theorist as its candidate to replace Julian Assange at the West Australia Senate election.

Gerry Georgatos was endorsed by the WikiLeaks national council on Tuesday night after the party was notified by the Australian Electoral Commission that Mr Assange was not eligible to contest in WA as he had not spent enough time in the state in past six years.

Mr Assange remains in diplomatic asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Mr Georgatos, a university researcher and journalist, wrote a series of articles in January for independent news website, The Stringer, claiming Australian officials ''know without doubt'' that Schapelle Corby is innocent.

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The article went on to claim that she was used as a drug mule by corrupt officials and the Australian government considered brokering a ''tit-for-tat'' deal in which Indonesian children in Australian prisons would be ''swapped'' for Ms Corby.

When contacted by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Mr Georgatos stood by his claims but conceded the story was ''too dramatic'' for the Australian public to take seriously.

Mr Georgatos said he came into contact with Department of Foreign Affairs officials in the course of campaigning for the release of Indonesian boys held in adult prisons. He said they openly claimed Ms Corbys innocence.

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Schapelle Corby conspiracy theorist to stand for WikiLeaks Party in WA Senate byelection

EXCLUSIVE

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is ineligible to stand in the WA Senate byelection. Photo: AFP

The WikiLeaks Party has chosen a Schapelle Corby conspiracy theorist as its candidate to replace Julian Assange at the West Australia Senate election.

Gerry Georgatos was endorsed by the WikiLeaks national council on Tuesday night after the party was notified by the Australian Electoral Commission that Mr Assange was not eligible to contest in WA as he had not spent enough time in the state in past six years.

Mr Assange remains in diplomatic asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Mr Georgatos, a university researcher and journalist, wrote a series of articles in January for independent news website, The Stringer, claiming Australian officials ''know without doubt'' that Schapelle Corby is innocent.

Advertisement

The article went on to claim that she was used as a drug mule by corrupt officials and the Australian government considered brokering a ''tit-for-tat'' deal in which Indonesian children in Australian prisons would be ''swapped'' for Ms Corby.

When contacted by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Mr Georgatos stood by his claims but conceded the story was ''too dramatic'' for the Australian public to take seriously.

Mr Georgatos said he came into contact with Department of Foreign Affairs officials in the course of campaigning for the release of Indonesian boys held in adult prisons. He said they openly claimed Ms Corbys innocence.

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Conspiracy theorist to run in byelection

Euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke to stand at the re-run of the Senate election. Picture: Sharon Smith/ WA News

Euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke will be one of the many micro-party candidates to stand at the re-run of the Senate election in Western Australia - but not Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Dr Nitschke and his Voluntary Euthanasia Party announced they would be running on April 5 to "lead the charge in pushing politicians to take a stance on voluntary euthanasia".

"We are so excited that we'll soon have passionate VEP members and community leaders speaking with Western Australians to spread the word of why a vote for the party is so important this election," Dr Nitschke said.

Dr Nitschke, who performed the world's first legally assisted suicides in the Northern Territory in 1996, ran senate candidates in NSW, ACT and South Australia, as well as in the Northern Territory lower house seat of Solomon in last year's federal election. The party did not field a senate candidate in WA in September.

"We're looking to build on our efforts last September and bring together thousands of Australians to run a powerful campaign in our country's biggest state," Dr Nitschke said.

Meanwhile, the Wikileaks Party has confirmed Mr Assange would not run, amid reports he was not eligible to contest in WA as he had not spent enough time in the state in past six years.

The Wikileaks founder remains in diplomatic asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

| Bullock 'a good candidate' |

Local candidate Gerry Georgatos, who ran in WA for Wikileaks in September, has been selected by the party to lead their campaign.

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Nitschke to run in WA Senate election