Geneva/London - Whistleblower website WikiLeaks emigrated Friday to a new Swiss address after its old site was shut down, but the group's founder said he was undeterred and would keep releasing confidential diplomatic documents.
A file photograph showing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. EPA/MARTIAL TREZZINI
Julian Assange made his promise as Swedish authorities added details to an international arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks, wanted for allegations of sexual offences. Assange has continuously denied all charges against him.
Furthermore, while he said he felt his personal safety was being threatened, Assange pledged information would continue to be released.
At least one Canadian official earlier this week called for Assange's assassination while US politicians have said the release of documents is tantamount to treason and some have equated WikiLeaks with terrorist organizations.
'If something happens to us, the key parts will be released automatically,' Assange told the Guardian's website.
The British newspaper was hosting Assange as part of a live question-and-answer segment on its blog. The whereabouts of Assange, 39, are unknown. He is giving interviews from undisclosed locations only though online mediums.
On November 28, WikiLeaks began publishing 251,287 US embassy cables, the latest trove of confidential US documents to be made public. The process of releasing the material is still ongoing.
Assange said he was unaware of 'even a single person' that has been harmed because of revelations made by the organization so far.
Rights groups and governments have warned that some people implicated in espionage or other acts that require secrecy might face dangers from the revelation of their names.
The WikiLeaks founder also remained adamant in not revealing his sources, saying only that those who leaked documents deserved praise.
'If indeed it is the case, as alleged by the Pentagon, that the young soldier - Bradley Manning - is behind some of our recent disclosures, then he is without doubt an unparalleled hero,' said Assange.
Manning, who served with US forces in the Middle East, is currently under arrest on charges of leaking the embassy documents now being released, along with earlier troves this year on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Noting that more cables would be released, Assange also gave a clue as to what might be contained in them, beyond the diplomatic gossip, questionable grey areas of statesmanship and insights into the strategic thinking of senior officials.
'It is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive, there are indeed references to UFOs,' said the Australian national.
The new hosting for the group is located at www.wikileaks.ch, a site registered by the Swiss Pirate Party.
Late Thursday, the website www.wikileaks.org went down, with EveryDNS.net, the owner of the hosting services, saying a denial of service attack had forced it to take the move.
'These attacks have, and future attacks would, threaten the stability of the EveryDNS.net infrastructure, which enables access to almost 500,000 other websites,' the company said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Amazon stopped hosting the site, after coming under fire from members of the United States Congress, including Senator Joe Lieberman.
'If Amazon are so uncomfortable with the first amendment, they should get out of the business of selling books,' WikiLeaks retorted via its Twitter feed.
Amazon responded by saying it removed the site because WikiLeaks did not own the content of the leaked US diplomatic cables, and that the group could not have 'redacted in such a way as to ensure that they weren't putting innocent people in jeopardy.'
Assange's personal legal situation become more entangled this week, as international law enforcement agencies stepped up the efforts to bring him in for questioning and the Swedish Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his appeal against a detention order.
Two women in Sweden have made complaints about the man who has become the face of WikiLeaks. Assange's lawyers say the complaints are based on a dispute over consensual sex and the use of protection during intercourse.
Your Talkback on this Story