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Christine Assange, who lives in Queensland, dismissed the rape charges against her 39-year-old son, for which he remains remanded in custody in Britain and facing extradition to Sweden, saying: "Julian would not rape".But she told Australia's Seven Network that she was concerned about what will happen to her son, founder of the WikiLeaks website which has begun releasing more than 250, 000 sensitive US diplomatic cables.
Julian Assange denies the sexual assault charges.
"Julian, rape, straight out of my guts -- no way. Julian would not rape," Christine Assange said.
She added: "It's a worry, of course. I am no different from any other mother. Every time the news goes on I am glued to it...
"These massive forces have decided they are going to stop him and they are not going to play by the rules."
As protests were held around Australia on Friday in support of Assange, his mother said she was angry at the government in Canberra, which has accused her son of committing an illegal act in relation to the leaked documents.
The Australian government has also said it would fully support any law enforcement moves by the United States against Assange over the cables' release.
"Hang on a minute, this is one of your citizens here," Christine Assange said. "You shouldn't be leading the charge.
"He is brave. A lot of people would not be able to withstand the pressure he is under."
She said her son, whose site has already released thousands of US military papers related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was "very heartened" by the global response to his plight.
But she also told his supporters: "Don't take your freedoms for granted or else you will lose them.
"They were hard fought for, people lost their lives over and over and over again, and if we don't protect them we will lose them and next time it could be your son or your daughter."
source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/article809121.ece/Assanges-mother-says-massive-forces-against-him