December 13, 2010 -- Rallies and marches have been held across Australia, on December 9-12 and with more scheduled, to protest against the persecution of the whistleblower website Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange.

In Brisbane, rallies of around 400 people were held on successive days, on December 9 and 10. Speakers at the December 10 rally included Greens representative Andrew Bartlett, Socialist Alliance member and radical academic Gary McLennan, the lawyer for victimised Indian Doctor Mohamed Haneef, Sri Lankan campaigner for Tamil rights Dr Brian Senewiratne, Pro-Choice women's rights activist Kathy Newnam, anti-war veterans' organisation Steadfast spokesperson Hamish Chitts and Socialist Alliance co-convenor Jim McIlroy.



Green Left Weekly co-editor Simon Butler addresses the December 10, 2010, rally in Sydney.

In Sydney on December 10, up to 1500 people rallied in Sydney's Town Hall Square. Speakers included independent journalist Antony Loewenstein, Greens senator Lee Rhiannon, Greens NSW upper house candidate David Shoebridge, Green Left Weekly co-editor Simon Butler, Pirate Party representative Simon Frew and the editor of Wikileaks Central.

About 1500 people rallied and marched around Melbourne CBD on December 10 in support of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange (photo slideshow above). The marchers did a sit-down in Latrobe Street.

In Adelaide, around 500 people rallied on December 12. Protests were also held in Perth and Hobart.



Socialist Alliance's Renfrey Clarke addresses the December 12, 2010, rally in Adelaide.