New York: Pamela Anderson is continuing to stand by longtime friend and Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, whom she calls "an incredible person."
On Thursday, the U.S. filed new charges against Assange accusing him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing thousands of documents, both secret and classified, including the names of confidential sources for American armed forces.
Assange remains in custody in London where he is serving a 50-week prison term after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The U.S. is seeking his extradition.
Anderson, who spoke about Assange while attending an annual amfAR party held in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival, said now is the time for his supporters to speak up.
"More people should be proud of him because he's ruffled a few important feathers I guess, but powerful feathers and so they're not too happy with him at the moment. So now he's shut off from the rest of world and we have to speak up for him," Anderson said.
Assange's legal troubles don't stop there. Sweden has announced it is seeking Assange's arrest on suspicion of rape.
Anderson says she doesn't believe those allegations either.
"I've read every single document on this and all the information on it and it's absolutely nothing like that that it was. I think it was a setup. You have to let the women speak. Obviously I really encourage women to speak out. But in this case, it's a little suspicious."
Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges against Assange after he visited the country in 2010.
Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired.
That left a rape allegation, which couldn't be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy.
The statute of limitations on that case expires in August 2020.
Assange denies wrongdoing.
With inputs from APTN
