Dutch internet hacker an aid to Wikileaks' Assange

Rop Gonggrijp sought by the U.S.

AMSTERDAM - WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange is being helped by Dutch internet hacker Rop Gonggrijp, U.S. justice authorities say.

In a leaked court order, the U.S. authorities demand all the personal data of the Dutchman, of Assange and of two other alleged WikiLeaks leaders, of U.S. army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, who is in custody pending trial, of Icelandic parliamentarian Brigette Josdottir and of hacker Jacob Appelbaum. The information sought includes IP-addresses, Twitter accounts, Twitter messages and credit card data, home addresses, telephone numbers and bank account numbers.

The U.S. court documents state that Gonggrijp approached Dutch web-hosting companies with a million euros in the past year to service WikiLeaks data traffic. A son of a Turkish diplomat, Gonggrijp allegedly offered millions of euros to bring the website to a strong and trustworthy Dutch web-hoster, who would withstand pressure and remain in the air under all circumstances.

Gonggrijp is co-founder and chief editor of the internet hacker magazine Hack-Tic. A Dutch intelligence expert described him as a 'leftwing terrorism activist' who plays a leading role in the Dutch hackers' scene.