WikiLeaks wins court case against VISAJuly 12, 2012 - 20:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - WikiLeaks declared victory Thursday, July 12 in the first round of its campaign against the U.S. financial blockade imposed by Visa and MasterCard after an Icelandic court ordered a local company to resume processing credit card donations to the secret-spilling site, AP said. Visa and MasterCard were among half a dozen major U.S. financial firms to pull the plug on WikiLeaks following its decision to begin publishing about 250,000 State Department cables in late 2010. WikiLeaks says that the ensuing blockade has led to a 95 percent fall in revenue, something which founder Julian Assange says has forced him to focus on fundraising at the expense of his site's publication work. The judgment, handed down by Reykjavik District Court, is "a very important milestone in our campaign," WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a telephone interview. Lawsuits remain active in Denmark and in Belgium, he said, but the Icelandic win was "a small but very important step in fighting back against these powerful banks." The implications of the judgment weren't immediately clear. The District Court ordered Visa and MasterCard's local partner, Valitor, to resume funneling donations to WikiLeaks' payment processor, DataCell, within two weeks or face 800,000 kronur (about $6,000) in daily fines, according to DataCell lawyer Sveinn Andri Sveinsson. "If they don't appeal this verdict, then they're obliged to open the payment gateway," he said. "By opening the gateway, they're obliged to process the payments." Valitor didn't immediately return messages seeking comment on the judgment or clarity on whether it would appeal. Even if Valitor chooses to comply with the judgment, it isn't clear whether Visa or MasterCard would still allow their customers to make donations to DataCell or WikiLeaks. Neither Visa Inc. nor MasterCard Inc. immediately returned emails seeking comment on the judgment. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |