US charges Assange with conspiring with Manning

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged by the US Justice Department of conspiring with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer.

Washington:The US Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with conspiring with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer.

The charge was announced Thursday after Assange was taken into custody in London in connection with a US extradition request, as well as for breaching UK bail conditions in 2012.

His lawyer has previously said that Assange planned to fight any US charges against him.

The indictment accuses Assange of assisting Manning in cracking a password that helped Manning infiltrate Pentagon computers.