Assange's accusers 'sent texts discussing revenge'

London, Feb 8 (ANI): The women who accused Julian Assange of sexually assaulting them sent text messages to each other, discussing 'revenge' and extracting money from the WikiLeaks founder, a London court has heard.

The revelation was made by Assange's Swedish lawyer on the second day of an extradition hearing to decide whether he should be sent back to Sweden over alleged sex crimes, reports the Guardian.

Bjorn Hurtig told Belmarsh magistrates court that he had been shown 'about 100' messages sent between the alleged victims and their friends while supervised by a Swedish police officer, but had not been permitted to make notes or share the contents with his client.

He told the court that a number of the messages 'go against what the claimants have said.

One message referred to one of the women being 'half asleep' while having sex with Assange, Hurtig said, as opposed to fully asleep.

"That to my mind is the same as saying 'half awake'," he said.

But the lawyer admitted that Swedish prosecutors had tried to interview his client before he left the country, contradicting earlier claims by Assange's legal team and his own witness statement.

Under cross-examination by Clare Montgomery QC for the Swedish government, Hurtig admitted the prosecutor's office had contacted him on 22 September requesting an interview.

The hearing was adjourned until Friday. (ANI)