Julian Assange: Prolific leaker of secrets back in spotlight

Shares A fearless campaigner for democratic openness? Or a criminal trying to avoid justice? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a highly polarizing figure. Australian national Assange, 49, is the figurehead of the whistleblowing website that exposed government secrets worldwide, notably the explosive leak of US military and diplomatic files related to the Iraq and Afghan wars. But he has spent most of the past decade either in custody or holed up in Ecuador's London embassy as he has tried to avoid extradition -- first to Sweden to answer allegations of rape, and then to the United States. Born in Townsville, Queensland, in 1971, Assange has described a nomadic childhood and claims to...