WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange wants to publish drone attack info

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photo: AP

London:WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the whistleblowing group hasn't published anything to assist the Islamic State group (IS) but he would "absolutely" publish leaked information on drone attacks into Syria if offered it.

The 44-year-old Australian on Tuesday partly blamed poor media coverage for the rise of the terror organisation.

The comments came a day after British Prime Minister David Cameron said a Royal Air Force drone had killed British jihadist Reyaad Khan in Syria last month.

Mr Cameron said the strike was "an act of self-defence" since Khan had been planning "barbaric" attacks in Britain against high-profile commemorations over the northern summer.

Advertisement

Asked by Channel 4 News whether he would publish details about the drone strike if given the opportunity, MrAssange said: "Absolutely. We would have to see the actual material. We get together a bunch of experts and publishers and publish it.

"We will occasionally redact parts on human rights grounds but only for a limited period of time."

He added: "There's no allegation anything we have published has benefited the Islamic State, but let's go back. It's the failure of the press here to properly cover what has been happening in Syria (that) has led to the rise of the IS. That's a very, very serious phenomenon.

"The intelligence agencies have run amok, military supplies have run amok, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Turkey have run amok and as a result we now have the Islamic State, where we have incredible refugee flows, a human rights catastrophe.

"I'm someone who believes that education about how the world actually works, how human institutions actually behave, is really the only thing that we have.

"Otherwise it's just a chaos because our decisions are not based on understanding."

He also blamed the US and UK for giving the IS a stronghold in the Middle East by destabilising the area.

MrAssangehas spent three years at theEcuadorianembassy since being granted political asylum. Hefears extradition to the US from the UK and Sweden over WikiLeaks' release of US security information. He also fears extradition to Sweden for an investigation into an alleged rape.

PA

Follow FairfaxForeign on Twitter

Follow FairfaxForeign on Facebook

Read the original:
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange wants to publish drone attack info