From his refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has called Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr a "well-known liar" whose "ignorance is only eclipsed by his arrogance".
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Mr Assange, who is sheltering in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual misconduct, made the statements during an online interview with the progressive US independent media program Democracy Now.
He had been asked to respond to Senator Carr's assertion on the ABC that it was a "fantasy" to think that the US was seeking to extradite him once in Sweden to face conspiracy charges over information provided to Wikileaks by Bradley Manning, the US soldier whose espionage trial begins on Monday.
"Julian Assange could have been the subject of extradition action by the United States any time in the last two years, when he's been residing in the UK. He wasn't. To suggest that the Swedes are after him, as a CIA conspiracy, to get him to Stockholm and allowing – allowing – him to be bundled off to Langley, Virginia, is sheer fantasy," Senator Carr said.
Mr Assange responded that he had never claimed there was a CIA conspiracy, but said the US Justice Department was still engaged in a live criminal investigation into WikiLeaks "of unprecedented scale and nature".
"Bob Carr is a well-known liar in Australian politics. The man's ignorance is only eclipsed by his arrogance," said Mr Assange.
He went on to accuse Senator Carr of being a "US embassy informer" in his own right as a union official during the 1970s, according to diplomatic cables obtained and published by WikiLeaks.
He said that should he leave the Ecuadorean Embassy, "I could be arrested in relation to Sweden. I could be arrested in relation to the United States."
A spokesman for Senator Carr said: "Name-calling doesn't alter the fact that Mr Assange has received more consular assistance than any other Australian in similar circumstances.
"We will continue to offer Mr Assange consular assistance as he faces his legal issues overseas."
The US Department of Justice has yet to respond to Fairfax Media's calls.
Ecuador has stepped up pressure on Britain to grant safe passage to Mr Assange, and is sending its foreign minister Ricardo Patino to visit the fugitive at the country's embassy in London.
In order to travel to Ecuador, Mr Assange would have to cross British territory, where he could be seized and extradited.
With AGENCIES
