US Justice Department strengthens charges against Wikileaks’ Assange

Washington: The US Department of Justice strengthened its case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday in an indictment laying out new evidence that he recruited hackers and conspired to commit computer intrusions.

Assange already faces 18 criminal charges in the US and the latest indictment does not add to that number but instead augments existing charges.

The department’s updated indictment alleges that Assange conspired with individuals from the LulzSec and Anonymous hacker groups, among other accusations.

It also alleges that he gained “unauthorized access to a government computer system of a NATO country,” according to a statement.