Assange denied French asylum

In an open letter to French President Francois Hollande published in the newspaper "Le Monde" on Friday, Assange asked to be given asylum in France as a "humanitarian and symbolic gesture."

In the letter the Australian national, who turned 44 on Friday, described himself as a "journalist pursued and threatened with death by the United States' authorities as a result of my professional activities."

Hollande swiftly said no to the request, with his office releasing a statement hours after the open letter was published.

"The situation of Mr. Assange does not present an immediate danger. Furthermore, he is subject to a European arrest warrant," Hollande's office said.

Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for the past three years to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he faces allegations of rape and sexual assault from two Swedish women. Last month the Supreme Court in Sweden rejected an appeal by Assange for the warrant for his detention to be revoked.

The Internet activist has denied the allegations against him and said he feared that going to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States where he could face trial for his role in the publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of classified military files on US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as diplomatic cables.

WikiLeaks spy revelations

Assange's asylum plea came days after the WikiLeaks organization he helped set up reported that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had eavesdropped on France's three most recent presidents: Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac. The alleged revelations have caused outrage in France, with WikiLeaks following up by alleging the NSA had also spied on French finance ministers and business activities.

In recent days, WikiLeaks has also reported allegations of widespread NSA spying on top officials in Germany, including espionage which was economic in nature and relating to the issues surrounding Greek debt.

se/kms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)