WikiLeaks founder 'should be assassinated,' senior advisor to Canada's prime minister says on TV; senior US Republican Huckabee urges execution of person who leaked hundreds of thousands of cables
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be assassinated, a senior adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, highlighting escalating anger in the wake of a major leak of US documents.
"I think Assange should be assassinated, actually," Tom Flanagan said, speaking on Canadian television station CBC. "I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something."
Flanagan did not retract his remarks when asked about them later and added: "I wouldn't feel unhappy if Assange does disappear."
Meanwhile, senior US Republican Party member Mike Huckabee urged the execution of the person who leaked the hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks.
"Whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty," Huckabee was quoted as saying by The Guardian. According to the Politico website, he said: "They've put American lives at risk. They put relationships that will take decades to rebuild at risk."
On Tuesday, Interpol in Europe placed WikiLeaks founder Assange on its most-wanted list Tafter Sweden issued an arrest warrant against him as part of a drawn-out rape probe – involving allegations Assange has denied. The Interpol alert is likely to make international travel more difficult for Assange, whose whereabouts are publicly unknown.
Meanwhile the US officials pondered possible criminal prosecutions against Assange. There have been suggestions that Assange or others involved in the leaks could be prosecuted under the US Espionage Act.
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