WikiLeaks, a website devoted to publishing leaked government and corporate documents, is challenging a U.S. District Court decision upholding the right of site’s hosting company to shut the site down.
The site recently released paperwork allegedly implicating the Cayman Islands branch of a Swiss bank, Julius Baer Bank and Trust, in a conspiracy to conceal U.S. financial transfers and launder the cash in the process. Officials from the bank contacted WikiLeaks’ domain registrar and hosting company (which houses the site’s content on its servers but does not have ownership rights), demanding that the site be deactivated. The hosting service, Dynadot, complied, and WikiLeaks was shut down.
The site’s owners contend that the process of closing the site happened so quickly that it had no opportunity to challenge the ruling or prevent the termination of service. WikiLeaks does, however, maintain the site at several other domains, at which the contentious documents can still be found.
