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WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson also addressed reporters, saying that Assange \"knows that he is innocent\" and is \"bent but not broken.\"

\"PHOTO:
Matt Dunham/AP, FILE
PHOTO: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London, May 1, 2019.
>

\"He knows that he is being persecuted for the simple fact of doing journalist work,\" Hrafnsson said.

Speculation as to the circumstances of Assange's dramatic arrest in London last month has continued to swirl. The president of Ecuador, Lenin Maduro, said Assange was ejected from the embassy after using it as a \"center for spying\" and acted \"discourteous and aggressive\" toward staff. Both Assange and WikiLeaks deny these claims.

Federal prosecutors in the United States unsealed a computer hacking indictment against Assange just hours after authorities in the United Kingdom arrested him, accusing Assange of a conspiracy with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst-turned-whistleblower Chelsea Manning to hack into U.S. Department of Defense computers in March 2010, \"one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,\" according to U.S. officials.

A lengthy legal battle is expected to take place after Assange told a London court via videolink that he would contest extradition to the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

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