AAP George Brandis says Julian Assange should be \"man enough\" to face sexual assault claims against him. <\/p>\n
Julian Assange has hit back at Attorney General George Brandis for saying the Wikileaks founder should be \"man enough\" to face Swedish sexual assault allegations. <\/p>\n
A Swedish court on Wednesday upheld an arrest warrant against Assange. The warrant was issued in 2010 over allegations of rape and sexual molestation which Assange has denied. <\/p>\n
The court's decision is another setback for the 43-year-old Australian, who has been holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for more than two years in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden. <\/p>\n
Assange says he fears that if he goes to Sweden he will be extradited on to the United States to face charges for publishing classified material. <\/p>\n
But Senator Brandis says Assange should face the claims. <\/p>\n
\"I think Mr Assange should be man enough to face the allegations against him of being a sexual predator,\" he told ABC radio on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Assange says Senator Brandis had merely stolen comments US Secretary of State John Kerry made about intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden. <\/p>\n
\"AG Brandis should stop plagiarising sexist claptrap and start doing his job: defending the legal rights of all Australians,\" Assange said in a statement to AAP, sent by his Australian lawyer Greg Barns. <\/p>\n
Courage is not the sole preserve of men, Assange said. <\/p>\n
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