Exposed: The 'creepy, lovesick' emails WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange sent to 19-year-old girl student
By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 12:08 PM on 17th December 2010
- In 2004, Julian Assange, then 33, sent 'stalkery' messages to 19-year-old student after kissing her
- WikiLeaks boss currently free on conditional bail as he fights extradition to Sweden over alleged sexual assault of two women
- Australian said yesterday he fears the U.S. will begin proceedings to arrest him for espionage within the next 24 hours
But WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has some embarrassing documents in his own past he would rather the world didn't know about.
A series of emails detailing his 'stalkery courtship' of a teenager are revealed - two years before he founded his notorious website.
The Gawker website which revealed the series of emails Assange sent to the Melbourne University student
On the day Assange was freed on conditional bail at the High Court pending moves to extradite him to Sweden on allegations of sexually assaulting two women, Gawker details his 'secrets'.
Meanwhile, Assange, who is currently under house arrest at a friend's mansion in Norfolk, has spoken out about what he believes to be an international conspiracy against him, saying he feels ‘a hundred years of anger’ over his week ‘in a black hole’.
Julian Assange arrives at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk, the home of his journalist friend Vaughan Smith, where he is under house arrest as part of his bail conditions
The Australian, joined by WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson, tells the waiting media outside Ellingham Hall of his fears that the U.S. will begin moves to arrest him within 24 hours
She was studying physics and mathematics at the university and approached the older man with long white hair because he seemed 'different' to the other men she had met.
She told Gawker: 'He just seemed kind of quiet and nerdy. I didn't think he was sexy or anything. Just strangely alluring for a 19-year-old girl.'
Assange walked her back to the nearby town where she lived with her parents and unexpectantly kissed her.
She said: 'It was like, fine, whatever. He wasn't creepy about it, and he didn't try anything weird.'
They swapped email addresses and soon after Elizabeth received a message inviting her on a date. Elizabeth does not remember how she responded but was dismissive because 'I wasn't into him.'
The first note Assange sent to 19-year-old Elizabeth after they met in a bar
Assange reacts with dismay when Elizabeth becomes angry because he will not reveal how he obtained her home phone number
A bizarre note from Assange follows his criticism of Elizabeth for getting angry with him
The following day he called her parents' home even though she had not given him the number. Elizabeth was shocked and angry when Assange would not tell her how he had obtained it.
She told Gawker that she was 'cold' with Assange who responded with an email criticising her for not being polite to him.
But Assange was not put off and rang a couple days later. This time, Elizabeth pretended to be someone else. Assange appeared to mistake this as flirtation.
After a few more emails got him nowhere, Assange tried to get Elizabeth to call him - by using a riddle.
Assange worked out the make and licence plate number of her car and put it into a riddle which, when solved, would reveal his phone number:
Elizabeth emailed back that she couldn't call him because the clues didn't give her his number. So Assange decided to go back to calling her, and later that day sent an email asking the best time.
Assange thinks Elizabeth is being flirtatious with him after pretending to be someone else when he called her parents' home
Finally, Assange gave up. But not before making up for his humiliation with a stream of overwrought put-downs in an email.
Today Elizabeth says she never felt threatened by Assange's behaviour. 'I don't think he's a bad person,' she said. 'He's just a funny bugger.'
The WikiLeaks founder holds a press conference after his successful appeal at the High Court
The stone arch of the entrance to the High Court is suffused in a serene purple hue as Mr Assange speaks to the press following his release
The WikiLeaks founder said he feared the United States would begin proceedings to arrest him within the next 24 hours.
Under the conditions of his release, he will now spend Christmas under ‘mansion arrest’ in a ten-bedroom manor house in the Norfolk countryside, which will become the base of his website.
Julian Assange's mother Christine (centre) can't hide her glee as she talks to reporters at The High Court after her son was released on bail
Assange was granted bail when a senior judge rejected a bid to keep him locked up pending moves to extradite him to Sweden on alleged sex assault charges, which he denies.
At a celebration party last night at the Frontline Club in London he said: ‘I’ve spent a week in a black hole. I’ve got a hundred years of anger over what’s happened.’
Australian journalist John Pilger (left) and author and filmmaker Tariq Ali were at the High Court to lend their support to Assange yesterday
‘One of the concerns that we have had since I have been in the UK is whether the extradition proceeding to Sweden, which is occurring in a very strange and unusual way, is actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the United States.’
On the court steps, he said: ‘Well, it’s great to smell the fresh air of London again. I want to thank all the people around the world who have faith in me.
‘I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence.'
Police officers wait in heavy snow at the bail address of the WikiLeaks founder following his release from Wandsworth Prison
Among the conditions of his bail, Assange must wear an electronic tag, abide by a 10pm curfew and report to police daily.
The WikiLeaks founder is wanted in Sweden over claims that he sexually assaulted two women during a visit to Stockholm in August.
Ellingham Hall in Bungay, Norfolk, the ten-bedroom mansion where Assange will stay while on bail
He gave a thumbs-up from the dock in a packed courtroom at the High Court in London.
The money came from nine celebrity backers including Jemima Khan and Bianca Jagger, who yesterday afternoon rushed to formally declare themselves at their local police stations.
It took a further five hours before Assange finally walked free.
Explore more:
- People:
- Julian Assange,
- Jemima Khan
- Places:
- Stockholm,
- London,
- Melbourne,
- United Kingdom
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339287/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assanges-stalker-style-emails-19-year-old-girl-exposed.html#ixzz18NVHepbm
