Geneva: The founder of WikiLeaks says he may apply for asylum in Switzerland.
Australian-born Julian Assange claims he and his collaborators have come under increasing pressure from the United States government and others in recent months.
Since 2006, the group has published almost 500,000 secret US documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other files.
In October, Sweden denied Assange's application for a residence permit. Assange told reporters on Friday he was "still looking into the process" of applying for asylum in Switzerland because "the Swiss have a history of fierce independence”.
He spoke at the United Nations in Geneva after a meeting organised by the Iranian Elite Research Centre, a UN-accredited group based in Tehran.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 06, 2010, 08:48