In the interview with The Times of London, Mr. Assange also spoke of his “feeling of betrayal” toward the two women in Sweden, who have said he forced sex on them without using a condom, and in one case while the woman, according to her account, was asleep. Over the weekend, The Guardian and The New York Times obtained copies of a 68-page police document detailing the accusations against Mr. Assange, leaks he said were “clearly designed to undermine” his bail arrangements.

“Somebody in authority clearly intended to keep Julian in prison,” he said of himself.

Mr. Assange said the accusations had put at risk what WikiLeaks had achieved. “We have changed governance, we have certainly changed many political figures within governments, we have caused new law reform efforts, we have caused police investigations into the abuses we expose, U.N. investigations, investigations here in the U.K., especially in relation to our revelation of the circumstances of the deaths of 109,000 people in Iraq,” he said. He added, “We are also changing the perception of the West.”

Attempts by The New York Times to interview Mr. Assange in recent days were unsuccessful. For months, he has regularly changed cellphones, and had members of his close-knit entourage answer them for him.

Recently, even those have been switched off, and Ellingham Hall padlocked its gates against intruders. Its telephones go unanswered, and its Web site, advertising the estate as a venue for weddings and the shooting parties where the public is charged $40 for every pheasant bagged, has gone offline.

Mr. Assange has given accounts of the handling of his case in Sweden that conflict sharply with those given by Swedish officials.

Immediately after an initial warrant was issued for his arrest in August, he said he had “no idea” who his accusers were; he has since acknowledged that he slept with both of the women over a four-day period before the warrant was issued. He has said he waited weeks to be interviewed by the police in Sweden; they have said that it was Mr. Assange who delayed meeting with them.