Julian Assange criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and asked allied nations for assistance. In November 2010, Sweden issued an international arrest warrant for Assange. He had been questioned there months earlier over allegations of sexual assault and rape. Assange denied the allegations, and said that he would be extradited from Sweden to the United States because of his rôle in publishing secret American documents. Assange surrendered to UK police on 7 December 2010 but was released on bail within 10 days. Having been unsuccessful in his challenge to the extradition proceedings, he breached his bail and absconded. He was granted asylum by Ecuador
Julian Assange readers' choice award for person of the year, the "Time" readers' choice award for person of the year (he was also a runner-up in "Time's" overall person of the year award), a deal for his autobiography worth at least US$1.3 million, and selection by the Italian edition of "Rolling Stone" as "rockstar of the year". Assange announced that he would run for the Australian Senate in March 2012 under the new WikiLeaks Party, and "Cypherpunks" was published in November. In 2012, Assange hosted a television show on RT (formerly known as Russia Today), a network funded by the Russian government.