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Summary
Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange planned to hold protests in the capitals of Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and the Netherlands to demand Assanges release, the re-establishment of Wikileaks domain and restoration of Visa and Mastercard services to the website. A statement on the Spanish website Free Wikileaks said: We seek the liberation of Julian Assange in United Kingdom territory. It called on protesters to gather in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and other Spanish cities. The rally in Amsterdam was sponsored by the Dutch Pirates Party to call for protection of freedom of the press and to express displeasure with the attempt to silence sites such as WikiLeaks. The 39-year old Australian hacker is jailed at the Wandsworth isolation unit in London after he was arrested for charges of rape and sexual molestation of two women Sarah and Jessica, early this month. The publishing website WikiLeaks insists that the allegations against Assange are politically motivated attempts in retaliation for the release of more than 250,000 confidential cables, believed to have been passed to WikiLeaks by a US Army private. A spokesman for Wikileaks spokesman said the arrest and detention of Assange was an attack on media freedom. They pledged to continue publishing the controversial US cables. In the US, President Barack Obama expressed his regrets for Wikileaks deplorable documents dump as he assured Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it will not influence the diplomatic relations between US and Turkey. Obama offered similar statements to Mexican president Felipe Calderon. The latest comments were Obamas strongest condemnation so far against the website. Assange is due to appear in court for the second time on Tuesday. He was denied by a London court to post bail due to risk of fleeing. This week, hacktivists and supporters of Wikileaks, Assange launched Operation Payback and Operation Leakspin, the start of the so-called first global cyber war.
