Wikileaks what is the story

He was later held in the UK, where he was living at the time, to await the result of an extradition request to face the charges in Sweden. Two years later, however, Assange skipped bail and sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he would spend the next seven years.

By this time, the US had launched an investigation into the publishing of the documents relating to Iraq and Afghanistan and later sought to press charges and extradite Assange from the UK. Such charges included 17 for espionage and one for computer misuse "by cracking a password" with US whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Manning, a former US army intelligence analyst, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her part in the leaks, but eventually served seven when former US president Barack Obama commuted her sentence. She was later sent back to prison in March for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks and was ordered to be released around a year later.

Meanwhile, relations between Assange and Ecuador had begun to sour amid accusations from President Lenin Moreno of "repeated violations" at the embassy. It resulted in Assange being evicted - and he was filmed in April being dragged from the building.

Assange was found guilty of skipping bail and, pending the US request for extradition, was taken to Belmarsh Prison, where he remains to this day. She accepted the case from the defence team that it would be "oppressive" to allow Assange to be sent to a solitary confinement facility in America when considering the state of his mental health. Assange, now a father of two, is said to have experienced suicidal ideation in Belmarsh and has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and depression.

The political party's manifesto proposed banning immigration from Muslim countries and encouraging some UK residents to return to "their lands of ethnic origin". A leak of more than , emails and 20, documents from movie studio Sony Pictures was published on Wikileaks in The entertainment company suffered a cyber-attack weeks before releasing The Interview, a film that poked fun at North Korea.

The emails revealed that actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams received a lower fee than their male co-stars in American Hustle. There were also messages from producers and executives insulting celebrities such as Angelina Jolie.

Leonardo DiCaprio was called "despicable" for turning down a role in a Sony Pictures film. Mr Assange said the emails were in the public interest because they showed the inner working of a multinational company and were "at the centre of a geo-political conflict".

Who is Julian Assange? The helicopter attack. Image source, Wikileaks. US Army Intelligence. Image source, AFP. Democrat emails. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Assange had revealed "evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan" and that his extradition to the US "should be opposed by the British government".

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Assange should face the criminal justice system if Swedish authorities decide to charge him. Assange's lawyer Jennifer Robinson said they would fight the US extradition request. She said it set a "dangerous precedent" where any journalist could face US charges for "publishing truthful information about the United States".

Westminster Magistrates' Court found him guilty of a British charge of breaching bail on Thursday. He faces up to 12 months in prison for that conviction. Meanwhile, Swedish authorities have said they are considering reopening their investigation into sexual assault allegations against him. The US has already charged the year-old with a single count of participating in the hacking of intelligence computers to reveal controversial intelligence operations in the United States.

But he is likely to face more charges if he is extradited to the US - a decision that will be taken by a judge and the UK home secretary. If Sweden also makes an extradition request, one legal expert has said it would be for the home secretary to decide which request would take precedence. Who is Julian Assange? Sweden considers reopening Assange rape case. Wikileaks' document dumps that shook world. Ecuador arrests man 'close' to Assange. Image source, Getty Images. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Julian Assange: Campaigner or attention-seeker? What happened with Wikileaks?