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She's been put under surveillance, intimidated by the United States Administration and stood shoulder to shoulder with the man dubbed by some as the world's most dangerous.After six frenzied months defending WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson returned home to the sleepy town of Berry this week, relieved to be back on familiar turf."The last six months have been very full-on and busy. It's been very intense," the 30-year-old admitted."There has been such huge international media scrutiny, it's nice to come home," she said.WikiLeaks triggered a global frenzy last November after it published more than 250,000 confidential US cables, exposing classified intelligence and US discussions with foreign governments.Ms Robinson, who hails from a renowned Berry horse racing family, has been caught in the world's gaze as she joined a team of lawyers helping Mr Assange fight extradition to Sweden.The landmark legal case meant Ms Robinson didn't make it home for Christmas, or the birth of her half-brother Thomas in February.She made up for lost time this week, attending her half-sister Matilda's playgroup and dropping into her former school, Bomaderry High.The former Rhodes scholar recounted her teenage years, including time spent in the principal's office for wagging school."We all do silly things when we are young, but it doesn't mean you can't succeed, and it doesn't mean you can't be great at whatever you put your mind to," she told students at the school.As she relished her time out, her famous client was under house arrest in an English mansion, awaiting his High Court appeal.Soon after the WikiLeaks cable dump last year, Swedish authorities issued a warrant to extradite Mr Assange for questioning over rape claims a allegations he insists are "without basis".Ms Robinson said Mr Assange was determined to see WikiLeaks continue publishing despite his house arrest."It's an awful situation. He's got an electronic tag on his ankle, he has a curfew and he has to report to the police station every morning," Ms Robinson said."I've never met anyone … who can continue to operate with the strain and pressure he is under."He's incredibly bright, incredibly driven and he is completely sure about what he is doing. People find that sort of conviction very difficult to understand."Mr Assange's followers laud him as a brave cyber genius and anti-war hero; detractors regard him as prickly and narcissistic at best, a terrorist at worst.Ms Robinson insists those who meet Mr Assange are surprised by his warmth."The perception of him in the media is a cold, hard, callous weirdo, and that is so not the case," she said.The intense pressure applied to Mr Assange has at times extended to Ms Robinson, who says she has been put under surveillance in London and intimidated by American authorities.But it is the Gillard government's treatment of the Australian national which has riled her most - including the Prime Minister's assessment that Mr Assange had committed an "illegal act" by leaking US documents.Ms Gillard later could not identify what Australian laws he had broken."It was political opportunity at work," Ms Robinson said."[Ms Gillard] kowtowed to the US and made a grave legal and political miscalculation."She suffered for it politically, and she deserves to."Having taken on what will surely be the biggest case of her career, Ms Robinson conceded she has wondered "what next?""[But] I always wanted to be a human rights lawyer and I will continue to do the work I did before Julian came along," she said."There will always be another case."- with Glenn Ellard

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