Top judge Baltasar Garzon joins Assange defence

A renowned Spanish judge has been hired to lead the defence of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Judge Baltasar Garzon will lead the legal team representing the group and its founder.

Garzon won global fame for aggressively taking on international human rights cases. He is best known for indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998.

Wikileaks said that Garzon recently met with the Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where the group's founder is holed up seeking asylum, to discuss a "new legal strategy".

Assange is currently fighting extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about allegations of sexual misconduct.

Wikileaks said in a statement posted on its Twitter account that Garzon has expressed "serious concerns" about "the lack of safeguards and transparency" with which actions are being taken against Assange.

(Published by Herald Sun - July 25, 2012)