Julian Assange; Evil criminal or whistleblower.. . .?

I find the persecution of Julian Assange remarkable and depressing. They are all over this guy from accusing him to sex crimes talk of political assassination. The entire force of Western power is arrayed against this guy and we can be fairly sure that they will either get him or he will meet with an 'unfortunate' accident.

The worst part is that if Assange's efforts had all been directed at, say, Cuba, China, and Venezuela, not only would the West not be persecuting him, but he would be a hero who would receive offeres from Yale to be a quest lecturer. You would have to be hopelessly naive or just a lier to not admit this. Whistleblowers are fine as long as they are blowing the whistle on the other guy.