Assange seeks 20-year jail term for Spaniard who spied on him

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange argues that in 2016, David Morales – who owned Undercover Global – and US authorities established contact regarding the passing of information about Assange. (AFP file photo)

• Julian Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government
• A Spanish court concluded that former military officer David Morales allegedly spied on Assange

MADRID: Julian Assange has asked Spain to hand a 20-year jail sentence to the head of a security firm who spied on the Wikileaks founder for the United States.
Assange’s lawyers suggested the jail term for David Morales, accused of discovery and disclosure of secrets, bribery, money laundering and illegal possession of weapons, in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday.
Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government over Wikileaks’s work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information.
He had spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven holed up in the Ecuador embassy in London where he claimed political asylum.
Between 2015 and 2018, the Spanish company Undercover Global oversaw the embassy’s security.
It is owned by Morales, a former military officer who is awaiting trial in Spain.
Assange’s defense argues that in 2016, Morales and US authorities established contact regarding the passing of information about Assange.
A Spanish court concluded that Morales allegedly spied on Assange and handed over “illegally obtained information” about him and other personalities, including several Latin American presidents, with whom he had contact.
The judge said in 2017, Morales installed new security cameras which, unlike the previous ones, recorded confidential conversations the activist had with his defense team, his family members and public figures.
Morales told technicians to enable a real-time streaming system while they were installing the cameras, according to the judge.
“He intended to open two streaming channels for online access, one official one for Ecuador and another for ‘friends of the United States’,” who wanted Assange’s extradition, the investigating judge said.