WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange complained to the UK print regulatory body the Press Complaints Commission over review of Assange’s autobiography, Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography, Journalism.co.uk reported.
As we wrote, Canongate publisher published the autobiography without Assange’s consent in September. Assange noted in his criticism of the publication that he didn’t get to fact check the book before publication.
The review in question was written by the Guardian’s James Ball, who worked for Wikileaks for a short period.
Assange’s complaint was over the review’s “reference to ‘charges’ against” Assange, according to Journalism.co.uk. Assange hasn’t been charged but is wanted for questioning in Sweden related to two sexual assault cases, as we have written.
While “the PCC acknowledged that there had been no formal charges…it ruled however that the reviewer, the Guardian’s James Ball, had ‘alluded to ‘charges’ more generally,” Journalism.co.uk reported. As such, the PCC “rejected” Assange’s complaint since the review wasn’t specific enough to be “significantly inaccurate.”