US mulls legal action on WikiLeaks

With controversy raging around the release of secret documents, what legal repercussions will WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, face? Assange is neither a US citizen nor a resident, so the extent of the reach of US law is in question. Interpol called for the arrest of Assange as his site's dumping of secret US cables exposed deep tensions between the United States and Pakistan over nuclear arms safety. France-based Interpol said that it had alerted all member states to arrest the 39-year-old Australian who is wanted in Sweden for questioning over the alleged rape and molestation of two women. Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, called in Cameron Munter, the US ambassador, for talks as WikiLeaks' steady release of 250,000 US cables sent shockwaves around the diplomatic community. Islamabad reacted angrily to suggestions by US diplomats that its nuclear weapons could fall into terrorist hands.

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