In a simultaneous move that is "purely coincidental" according to US justice officials, countries all over the world have issued arrest warrants for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of capital crimes. Most of these crimes carry the death penalty, if he is convicted.
In the United Arab Emirates, prosecutors held a press conference yesterday to announce they obtained proof that Mr. Assange "was keenly involved in" the killing of Hamas arms dealer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. A spokesman at the judicial offices near the US embassy in Dubai said "the video shows Mr. Assange using an Australian passport to perpetrate the crime." The founder of Wikileaks could face death by beheading if convicted of the charge.
At the same time in Mexico, authorities issued a warrant on Mr. Assange for his involvement in the murder of Santiago mayor Edelmiro Cavazos. A spokeswoman at the prosecutor's office a few blocks from the US embassy in Mexico City said "we have obtained evidence that he is the ringleader for a powerful drug cartel trying to seize control of Santiago," she said. The spokeswoman urged Wikileaks' founder to contact Mexican police for questioning about the accusations "so that he can be confronted with the suspicions." Mr. Assange could face the death penalty if convicted of the charges.
Simultaneously, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, officials released an INTERPOL warrant claiming the founder of Wikileaks "supplied fuel rods and other materials that can be used to make WMDs" to Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in violation of nuclear non-proliferation treaties, said Maxwell Dent, a former US ambassador to the United Nations. "We believe Julian Assange used his Russian mafia connections to sell nuclear fuel rods to Iran," he said. "We call on the leader of Wikileaks to do the right thing, to turn himself in for questioning on these heinous charges so that he can be transported to The Hague where he will face his accusers."
At almost exactly the same time in Germany, prosecutors in an office near Ramstein US Air Base filed a warrant that alleges Mr. Assange "leads a secret organization that harbors and shields aging Nazi officials from their war crimes." Spokesman Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock scolded the founder of Wikileaks to "turn himself in so that he can be confronted with the suspicions." If convicted, Mr. Assange could face death by hanging.
Simultaneously in Haiti, prosecutor Élie Lescot, Sr. filed an arrest warrant for the founder of Wikileaks. "We believe he is the ringleader for a gang that used the recent earthquake as a cover to transfer drug profits out of the country," Mr. Lescot said from his makeshift office outside the US embassy. The warrant alleges that Mr. Assange strengthened his power base "by killing other drug kingpins and crushing their bodies under piles of rubble to make it look like they all died in the earthquake." Mr. Lescot urged Mr. Assange "to do the right thing, give himself up to authorities so he can face these charges levied against him."
Meanwhile, in Bucharest, just down the road from the US embassy, Romanian prosecutors filed a warrant for the founder of Wikileaks on suspicion of being a liaison to deposed president Nicolae Ceauşescu. "We insist that Mr. Assange appear for questioning where he will be given the opportunity to face his accusers," spokesman Klaus Woermann announced. If convicted, both Mr. Assange and his wife would face immediate death by firing squad.
At the same time in South Africa, federal prosecutor Joachim von Mannheim held a press conference near the US embassy in Johannesburg to announce that Mr. Assange is wanted on suspicion of "fabricating evidence that led to the conviction of Nelson Mandela on charges of sabotage." The former President was convicted of a capital crime, Mr. von Mannheim observed, "which by extension makes Mr. Assange's crime a capitol offense as well." If convicted, the founder of Wikileaks could face life in prison on Robben Island.
