WikiLeaks chief inks 1.1 mil pounds deal for autobiography

H S Rao
London, Dec 26 (PTI) Julian Assange, the founder of
whistle-blower WikiLeaks website has bagged a 1.1 million
pounds deal for his autobiography.
39-year-old Assange whose site has enraged the
American government by releasing hundreds of secret embassy
cables, said the money would help him defend himself against
allegations of sexual assault made by two women in Sweden.
"I don't want to write this book, but I have to," The
Sunday Times quoted him as saying.
"I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs
and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat."
The Australian journalist is contesting an attempt by
the Swedish authorities to extradite him.
He said he would be happy to answer questions in
Britain but feared if he returned to Sweden for questioning he
would be extradited to America, where US Vice-President Joe
Biden has branded him a "high-tech terrorist".
Assange said he would receive USD 800,000 (518,000
pounds) from Alfred A Knopf, his American publisher.
A British deal with Canongate is worth a further
325,000 pounds.
And money from other international markets and
serialisation is expected to raise the total to at least 1.
1 million pounds.
The US administration has been furious at Assange
whose site is slowly releasing around 250,000 secret
diplomatic cables from its embassies. The White House mulling
steps to indict Assange over the publications of the
diplomatic cables.
Amid stepped pressure from the US government, credit
card companies Visa and MasterCard and the Internet payment
firm PayPal have blocked donations to WikiLeaks.
The largest US bank, The Bank of America, has also
blocked all transactions to WikiLeaks. PTI HSR
RCJ