Australian Wikileak founder's passport confiscated

[Swagman]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

TOM ARUP
May 17, 2010


Australian Wikileak founder's passport confiscated
TOM ARUP
May 17, 2010

Julian Assange, the Australian founder of the whistleblower website Wikileaks, says he had his passport taken away from him at Melbourne Airport and was later told by customs officials that it was about to be cancelled.

Last year Wikileaks published a confidential Australian blacklist of websites to be banned under the government's proposed internet filter.

The Age has been told that Assange's passport is classified ''normal'' on the immigration database, meaning the Wikileaks director can travel freely on it.

Assange told The Age his passport was taken from him by customs officials at Melbourne Airport when he entered the country last week after he was told ''it was looking worn''.

When the passport was returned to him after about 15 minutes, he says he was told by authorities that it was going to be or was cancelled.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/australian-wikileak-founders-passport-confiscated-20100516-v6dw.html

[EFerrari]

1. So, has fascism globalized, too?

Thanks for this post, Swagman. We need to follow this story.

[jberryhill]

5. He got it back, and is free to travel

What part of the story suggests there is anything to follow?

I had a customs official look carefully at my passport when it was worn out.

Btw, Australia cannot "confiscate" his passport since it is not his property

That is true in the US also, btw. US passports are not personal property:

http://law.justia.com/us/cfr/title22/22-1.0.1.6.33.1.3.8.html

[Goldom]

2. As many problems as we've got,

I am always thankful we don't (yet) have the kind of online censorship that other 1st world countries do...

[SoapBox]

3. wow...And I've just finished watching "V for Vendetta" for the first time...

All I could think was, take your pick...

High Chancellor = Dick(less) Cheney

or...worse,

High Chancellor = St. Sarah the Dictator

[jberryhill]

4. Yeah, that can happen if your passport is damaged

This line from the story is part of the coverup, no doubt:

"Passports are routinely taken from travellers for short periods by immigration officials if they are damaged."

So, what happened? His passport was returned in a few minutes, and there are no restrictions on his travel.

Is this like the people who were following him, which he was unable to photograph?

[boppers]

6. So, you've noticed a pattern too?

He certainly has a right to be paranoid, but it looks like maintaining hyper-vigilance is getting to him.

Amusingly enough, discrediting his sanity is an effective way of discrediting the site... a fairly mundane psy-ops trick.

[jberryhill]

7. His sanity has nothing to do with anything

The information posted at the site speaks for itself, as it is primarily leaked authentic stuff.

What this guy does with his Baron Von Munchausen tales helps to drive publicity, and there is nothing insane about that. It's annoying, but understandable.

The notion that a damaged passport might get inspected closely for signs of tampering is pretty mundane. It was returned to him and his status is normal. But he can drive a lot of traffic by making it part of this "OMG I'm being persecuted" tale.

Wanting publicity is not a mental illness of any sort. But if he makes a big deal out of mundane stuff like this, he could get into a wolf-crying situation.

[boppers]

8. Ah, more PETA than paranoid. That's a possibility.

Crying wolf vs. crazy like a fox. :)

[dipsydoodle]

9. He only needs his passport

to get back into Australia if he left : not to leave in the first place. Makes me wonder if there is something missing from the article. :shrug: Is he actually Australian ?

[Violet_Crumble]

11. He got his passport back...

..and I'm pretty sure I remember needing to have my passport to leave the country when I went to Europe a few years back. He is an Australian, but I'm just not seeing where the story is in that article. They gave him back his passport, he wasn't stopped from travelling, and if someone's got a criminal record, then they've got to expect they might get questioned by the AFP. This sounds like a complete non-story and I'm guessing it must have been a slow news day or something...

[jberryhill]

12. That is an airline requirement....

The airline will be fined if they deliver you to another country without a passport, and end up having to haul your carcass back.

You can leave without a passport - e.g. you can walk right into Tijuana without one - but an airline may not carry you out.

[Violet_Crumble]

14. Figured it was an airline thing...

I'm not sure how popular ships are as a way of leaving the country as opposed to flying, but walking into another country isn't do-able seeing as how we don't share any land borders with any other countries...

[jberryhill]

16. I've been to Australia...

...and I wouldn't put it past some Australians to at least try to walk to another country.

[Violet_Crumble]

17. I've been told it's possible to walk from the mainland to the Torres Strait Islands...

..at low tide and only to the closest island, and seeing as how the Torres Strait Islands are still part of Australia, it doesn't really count anyway, even if what I was told was true :)

[depakid]

19. Buckey's chance and none of that!

I can think of several excellent reasons to not have a go, this one being tops on my list:

[dipsydoodle]

13. I think there's a certain amount of bluff on occasions.

The whole point of passports is to allow travel with the emphasis on gaining entry to other countries - not leaving them.

The staff on Eurostar are like the Spanish Inquisition despite the fact we're supposed to have freedom of travel to France sans passports. I don't think the issue occurs at other European borders.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. Yeah, the only time I had to show my passport was between France and England...

But when it came to the other EU countries, most of the time I didn't even notice we'd crossed the border into another country...

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[troubledamerican]

18. Didn't he see this coming? ... Don't we?

[guruoo]

20. Tracking chipped?

[truthisfreedom]

21. Yep. He's been chipped, no doubt about it.

[Divine Discontent]

22. kick - because it really says A LOT about things...