US Leftists Back Ecuador Asylum For Assange

More than 4,000 Americans signed a petition in support of Wikileaks founder's Julian Assange application for asylum in Ecuador because he could be held incommunicado if extradited to Sweden or possibly taken to the U.S.

The U.S. government has made clear its open hostility to Wikileaks, the petition said. Well-known signers include Noam Chomsky, linguistics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame; actor Danny Glover, comedian Bill Maher and Ellen Barfield of Veterans for Peace.

Assange, 40, an Australian national, fled to the embassy of Ecuador in London a week ago to bar his extradition to Sweden where he faces two charges related to alleged molestation and rape. He has denied them, claiming they are a pretext against his Wikileaks activity of collecting and making public official government secrets.