GREATEST JOURNALIST : ASSANGE STRIPPED HANDCUFFED

LONDON : A lawyer for Julian Assange on Tuesday accused the United States of ''boldly and blatantly'' misstating facts about the Wikileak's founder's conduct, on the second day of the extradition hearing.

Lead defence lawyer Edward Fitzgerald also complained that Assange had been stripped naked twice and handcuffed 11 times coming and going from court the previous day.

He warned that his treatment could ''impinge on these proceedings'' and asked the judge to give ''an indication to prison authorities'' that the regime should be relaxed.

And defence lawyer Mark Summers argued that much of the 18-charge US indictment. Assange will face if extradited was ''provably wrong'', adding elements were ''lies, lies and more lies.''

''It's difficult to conceive a clearer example of an extradition request that boldly and blatantly misstates the facts as they are known to be to the US government,'' he told a packed courtroom in southeast London.

However, James Lewis, a lawyer for the US, called the defence testimony a ''series of misstatements about how the indictment is formulated''. He called the the Assange team's strategy ''a fundamental mischaracterization of....the allegations.

The extradition hearing at Woolwich Crown Court, next to the high security Belmarsh prison where he is being held, is expected to last five days before reconvening in May.

Assange, wearing a grey blazer and a sweater over a collared shirt in court, grew visibly tired after listening to hours of proceedings - prompting Judge Vanessa Baraitser to check on his condition.

''Mr. Assange is struggling, he's finding it hard to concentrate,'' a member of his legal team said after conferring with him. ''He can't communicate with his legal team. He's finding it very difficult.''

She added that she would expect Assange to be treated fairly and like anyone else. [AFP]