Assange lawyer says journalists should be troubled by U.S. charges against him

Reuters
Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor in chief of Wikileaks, and barrister Jennifer Robinson talk to the media outside the Westminster Magistrates Court after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London, Britain, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said journalists around the world should be troubled by the U.S. charges that accused Assange of conspiracy with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack a government computer.

"The factual allegations against Mr. Assange boil down to encouraging a source to provide him information and taking efforts to protect the identity of that source," lawyer Barry Pollack said. "Journalists around the world should be deeply troubled by these unprecedented criminal charges."

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)