The Life of Julian Assange

By RachelMcGuire

  • Birth

    On July 3, 1971 in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, Julien Assange was born.

  • Break-In

    Assange breaks in to the master terminal for Nortel, a telecommunications company. He is charged with 30+ counts of hacking, but ends up getting off with only a damage fine ("Julian Assange").

  • WikiLeaks

    Assange is the founder of Wikileaks, a company that posts otherwise confidential, undisclosed information usually about governments/some type of group of power. He founds WikiLeaks in 2006 ("Julian Assange Fast Facts").

  • WikiLeaks Posts Emails

    In 2008, Wikileaks posts emails of Sarah Palin, who is a vice-president candidate.

  • Runner-up for Time Person of the Year

    In 2010, Assange is runner-up for Time Person of the Year (Gellman).

  • WikiLeaks Becomes Known

    In 2010, WikiLeaks makes it big when it released "secret material about American military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of several months," (Stack, Cumming-Bruce and Kruhly).

  • Rape Accusations

    In 2010, Assange is accused of rape and molestation in Sweden. Sweden issues an extradition warrant for him, but Assange decides to fight the request (Stack, Cumming-Bruce and Kruhly). This starts a long, still ongoing legal process.

  • Court

    Between November 2011-June 2012, Assange attends court for rape and molestation accusations (Stack, Cumming-Bruce and Kruhly).

  • WikiLeaks Keeps Releasing Information

    WikiLeaks releases "classified military documents providing details on the behavior and treatment of detainees being held at the US Navy's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," ("Julian Assange Fast Facts"). Even with Assange being in a serious legal situation, his innovations keep developing.

  • Ecuador Grants Asylum

    In August 2012, Ecuador grants political asylum to Assange to avoid extradition to Sweden. He has already spent two months in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and this decision means he has to stay in the embassy to remain in Ecuador's territory (Stack, Cumming-Bruce and Kruhly).

  • Assange Publishes Book

    In November of 2012, Assange publishes his book, "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet," ("Julian Assange Fast Facts"). Assange is still working even when confined to an embassy.

  • Public Address

    Assange makes a public speech on the balcony of the embassy "demanding that the United States drop its 'witch-hunt' against WikiLeaks," ("Julian Assange Fast Facts").

  • More Emails Released

    In July of 2016, WikiLeaks releases almost "20,000 emails from Democratic National Committee staffers," ("Julian Assange Fast Facts"). This probably had huge effects on the presidential elections and worsened Assange's relationship with the U.S. government.

  • Sweden Drops Rape Investigation

    In May of 2017, Sweden drops the rape accusation. The chief prosecutor said this does not mean Assange is innocent but rather "proceeding with the case would require Mr. Assange to be served notice of the charges against him and for him to be present in a Swedish court, both of which were impossible," (Stack, Cumming-Bruce and Kruhly).

  • Warrant Is Upheld in the U.K.

    Even though Ecuador decides to grant Assange citizenship, his warrant for arrest is still upheld in the U.K. Assange is still in the embassy.

  • Works Cited

    Works Cited:
    "Julian Assange." Biography.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Mar. 2018.
    "Julian Assange Fast Facts." CNN. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Mar. 2018.
    Gellman, Barton. "Person Of The Year 2010 - TIME." TIME.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2018.
    Stack, Liam, Nick Cumming-Bruce, and Madeleine Kruhly. "Julian Assange: A Legal History." Nytimes.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Mar. 2018.