Julian Assange's Friends Who Stood By Him - And Friends Who Became Enemies

Is Anyone Still Actually Friends With Julian Assange?
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Julian Assange has a penchant for spectacular, public fallings out with people he has worked with - from journalists to fellow Wikileakers.

The list of people he has come to loathe includes most of the mainstream media and his celebrity supporters.

But, after two years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he can still count on some allies - despite losing the support of so many, including some of those who put a lot on the line during his legal battle to not be extradited to Sweden.

Here, we list five people who are still Team Assange... and four people who used to be his friends...

Julian Assange's Friends and Former Friends
Still Friends: Vaughan Smith(01 of09)
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Soldier turned journalist Vaughan Smith lost the £12,000 he put up as surety for Assange's bail when he sought refuge in Ecuador's embassy.Smith also put the Wikileaks founder up at his Norfolk estate for more than a year while Assange's legal challenge to extradition went through the courts. Smith said he was "shocked" at Assange's flight to the embassy and was "troubled" by the loss of the money but stood by his old friend.He told ITV: "It's a considerable sum and I don't think there are many people who could afford to lose that amount of money. "It's a balance between Julian's interests and my family's interests, but at least my family aren't facing extradition or a life sentence, so I feel that now is not the time to abandon Julian as a friend."I'm convinced that Julian really believes that if he is sent to Sweden he will be sent to the US. I don't know whether that's true but if he were that would obviously be perilous."
Still Friends: John Pilger(02 of09)
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The most aggressive supporter of Julian Assange is also just about the only journalist he has not ended up hating.John Pilger has kept the faith over Assange and repeatedly, publicly defended him and attacked his critics.He attacked Wikileaks documentary We Steal Secrets as "abusive". When Wikileaks was described as an Assange cult, he wrote a piece saying "Assange hate is the real cult."When former close supporter Jemima Khan distanced herself from Assange, Pilger claimed she had "ended her support for an epic struggle for justice, truth and freedom".
Still Friends: Ken Loach(03 of09)
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The film director has been relatively tight-lipped about Assange but we think there's ample evidence he's still a fan.Loach has compared the noble hero of his latest film, Jimmy's Hall, to the Wikileaks founder.The film is the story of an Irishman who reopens a community hall in his village so everyone can dance and discuss left-wing politics to their heart's content, incurring the wrath of nearly everyone in authority.The Telegraph's two-star review called it "exasperatingly thin".
Still Friends: Phillip Knightley(04 of09)
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Ok, so weren't quite right when we said Pilger was the only journalist Assange had not fallen out with.Phillip Knightley, the legendary investigative reporter who lost £15,000 when Assange skipped bail, said he did not regret it at all and said Assange sought asylum only after "exhausting every other possible remedy"He said: "I'm not worried about my commitment. I would do it again. He's an Australian and he deserves my compatriot's support. He's been treated terribly by the British and Swedish justice systems and I think he's the victim of a conspiracy."
Drifted Apart: Birgitta Jonsdottir(05 of09)
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The Icelandic MP and Assange have drifted apart and no longer speak but, as they did not have a huge public falling out, we think they still count as friends by Assange's standards.Jonsdottir has passionately defended Wikileaks and said Assange has "every reason" to fear extradition to America if he goes to Sweden.She told The New Republic: "I am not speaking with Julian, I haven’t spoken with him for a while. ... I left Wikileaks a long time ago and our friendship soured, so I’m just doing my thing and he’s doing his."
Frenemy: Andrew O'Hagan(06 of09)
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The first of our ex-Team Assange people. If you're going to piss people off, don't piss off your mild-mannered ghost writer who will write a 26,000 word essay about how difficult you are.O'Hagan's piece described the nightmarish experience of trying to get Assange to put in the legwork into his autobiography, which O'Hagan was meant to ghostwrite after Assange received a six-figure advance.He wrote: "The man who put himself in charge of disclosing the world's secrets simply couldn't bear his own. The story of his life mortified him and sent him scurrying for excuses. He didn't want to do the book. He hadn't from the beginning."The fiasco ended with the publisher putting out a draft of the autobiography, after Assange stopped co-operating, and dubbed it his "unauthorised autobiography".
Friend Turned Foe: Jemima Khan(07 of09)
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Jemima Khan, The associate editor of the New Statesman, lost £20,000 she put up for Assange's bail. She wrote a piece attacking him, saying he had "alienated" his allies.She said: "WikiLeaks... has been guilty of the same obfuscation and misinformation as those it sought to expose, while its supporters are expected to follow, unquestioningly, in blinkered, cultish devotion."She compared Assange to the founder of Scientology, saying: "It would be a tragedy if a man who has done so much good were to end up tolerating only disciples and unwavering devotion, more like an Australian L Ron Hubbard."
Friends Turned Foes: Everyone In The British And American Press Wikileaks Has Worked With(08 of09)
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Assange loathes The New York Times and The Guardian, the two principal media partners that helped Wikileaks get the story about the atrocities of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars out to a large raudience.At one point, Assange threatened The Guardian with legal action over the publication of the cables. Then editor of the New York Times Bill Keller called him "arrogant and thin-skinned".The Guardian's Nick Davies was a particular focus of his ire, especially after he reported leaked details of the rape case against Assange that awaits him, if he ever sets foot in the country.
Friend Turned Foe: Daniel Domscheit-Berg(09 of09)
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The former Wikileaks spokesman fell out with Assange about the direction of the organisation and their public spat has continued ever since.Domscheit-Berg's memoir of his time with Assange became the basis for the feature film The Fifth Estate, which Assange vehemently attacked.He wrote the film was a "massive propaganda attack". It depicts Domscheit-Berg as an integral player in Wikileaks but Assange played down his role in the group, saying it was minimal.He said of the film: "How does this have anything to do with us? It is a lie upon lie. The movie is a massive propaganda attack on WikiLeaks and the character of my staff."