Andreas Fink, the CEO of Iceland's DataCell ehf, told The Associated Press that he would seek damages from the American financial companies over their decision to block WikiLeaks funds.
"It's difficult to believe that such a large company as Visa can make a political decision," Fink said in a telephone interview from Switzerland. In an earlier statement, his company had defended the WikiLeaks, saying that "it is simply ridiculous to think WikiLeaks has done anything criminal."
WikiLeaks has been under intense pressure since it began publishing some 250,000 US State Department cables, with attacks on its websites and threats against its founder, Julian Assange, who is now in a British jail fighting extradition to Sweden on sex crime allegations.
A host of US Internet and financial companies have severed their links to the controversial website, some citing terms of use violations. Earlier this week, Visa and MasterCard said they would stop processing payments to WikiLeaks, although they have not offered a detailed explanation of why. Supporters have reacted with outrage — with many noting that unsavory organizations such as the American KKK and the far-right British National Party both claim to accept Visa and MasterCard.
MasterCard has declined repeated requests for comment.
Visa Europe Ltd. spokesman Simon Kleine said organizations could receive funds through Visa so long as they were legal and didn't breach the company's operating rules.
But he said that when issues arose "we need to ensure that they're in compliance with our operating rules and in compliance with local laws." He declined to say what those issues were in WikiLeaks' case. "We investigate on a commercially confidential basis," he said.
Fink said that he was officially notified of the dual suspensions through Danish financial services company Teller, which runs part of the payment infrastructure. He did not specify the kinds of damages he was seeking.
Fink's statement comes as Internet payment company PayPal says it will return the money frozen in WikiLeaks' account to the foundation that was fundraising for it.
The UN's top human rights official said she was concerned about reports of pressure on payment providers such as MasterCard to stop processing donations to WikiLeaks.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said reported efforts to stop Internet companies from hosting the secret-spilling website also are worrying.
Pillay told reporters in Geneva that these moves "could be interpreted as an attempt to censor the publication of information" in a way that breaches WikiLeaks' right to freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, portions of the diplomatic cables contained in WikiLeaks are available for sale on Amazon's UK website, an odd twist after the company ousted the organization from its hosting service.
Excerpts from some of the 250,000 sensitive documents were contained in a Kindle e-book self-published by an author listed as Heinz Duthel. The book isn't available in the US; people in the UK can buy it for 7.37 pounds ($11.60). The e-book contains the original WikiLeaks material, but more in the form of excerpts than as entire cables.
