2010
April: WikiLeaks releases Collateral Murder, a classified US military video showing a helicopter gunship slaying eighteen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad, including two Reuters journalists and their rescuers, thus documenting a war crime.
July: WikiLeaks publishes the Afghan War Logs, a collection of over 75,000 documents, revealing information on unreported killings of hundreds of civilians by coalition forces, increased Taliban attacks, and involvement by Pakistan and Iran in the insurgency.
August: during his visit to Sweden, Julian becomes the subject of sexual assault allegations. The case was investigated and the most serious allegation was immediately found to be baseless. However, the case was later re-opened by another prosecutor.
October: WikiLeaks publishes the Iraq War Logs, exposing numerous cases of torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Iraqi police and soldiers, as well as proof of the US government’s involvement in the deaths and maiming of more than 200,000 people in Iraq. The War Logs showed the true number of civilian deaths in Iraq and is the most detailed record of war to date.
November: Wikileaks begins to publish Cablegate, now the Public Library of US Diplomacy, a growing collection of 3,326,538 diplomatic cables from 274 consulates and embassies from 1966 to 2010. PLUSD documents 50 years of US diplomatic relations across the globe, its activities, its component corporations, its allies and its enemies.
December: Following the release of the first batch of US diplomatic cables, WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange are denounced as “terrorists” by several politicians and media commentators. Former US vice-president Joe Biden branded Julian a “high-tech terrorist” while prominent Republican Sarah Palin called him “an anti-American operative with blood on his hands”, urging his immediate capture by any means necessary. Fox News commentators called WikiLeaks a terrorist organisation, asking the US government to move immediately and aggressively against it. In an interview with CBC, Professor Tom Flanagan suggested President Obama have WikiLeaks director Julian Assange assassinated, saying, “Obama should put out a contract and use a drone, or something…”
December: Julian is arrested at a London police station on 7 December 2010, following a European arrest warrant from Sweden relating to sexual allegations. He appears in court the same day, saying he intends to fight his extradition to Sweden in order to avoid extradition to the US where he would be prosecuted. Julian is denied bail and remains in custody until 14 December, when he is released on house arrest.