Don't hunt down my son, says Assange mother

The mother of Australian  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Wednesday she was  distressed by an international police alert for her son's  arrest and did not want him "hunted down and jailed".    

Global police agency Interpol issued a "red notice" on  Tuesday to assist in the arrest of Assange, founder of the  whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, who is wanted in Sweden on  suspicion of sexual crimes.

Assange, 39, a former computer hacker now at the centre of  a global controversy after WikiLeaks released a trove of  classified U.S. diplomatic cables at the weekend, denies the  Swedish allegations.    

Christine Assange, who runs a puppet theatre in  Australia's Queensland state, said she was worried about her  son's wellbeing as Australia's government joined the United  States in launching an investigation into whether Assange and  WikiLeaks had broken security or criminal laws.

"He's my son and I love him and obviously I don't want him  hunted down and jailed. I'm reacting as any mother would. I'm  distressed," she told Australian radio. "A lot of stuff that's  written about me and Julian is untrue."    

Assange, who was born in Townsville, Queensland has gone  underground since WikiLeaks controversially began publishing  more than 250,000 secret U.S. government documents.    

Assange's arrest warrant was issued by Sweden's  International Public Prosecution Office in Gothenburg on Nov.  18.

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