He is the elusive WikiLeaks founder who has made enemies of presidents and prime ministers but Julian Assange expects one leader to stand up for his rights.

The Australian founder of the whistleblower website has called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to apologise for the way she treated him and his website.

7News was invited to interview Mr Assange at the English country manor where strict bail conditions have made him a virtual prisoner.

More Assange exclusive interviews with 7News and full coverage

He is facing extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual assault and has been denounced for leaking thousands of US diplomatic cables.

Mr Assange told 7News reporter Mike Duffy that Ms Gillard’s actions stopped him from returning home to Australia because he did not feel safe.

Upon the release of the controversial cables, Ms Gillard and Attorney-General Robert McClelland declared the leaks “illegal” but later backed away from their statements when asked to name any law WikiLeaks had broken.

Under heavy public pressure, the Australian government was forced to provide Mr Assange with assistance in his legal case.

Ms Gillard has constantly maintained the activities of WikiLeaks are “irresponsible” and “reckless”, and condemned the actions of the organisation.

"Gillard needs to declare publicly that this is not an acceptable treatment of an Australian organisation and nor is it an acceptable treatment of an Australian," Mr Assange told 7News.

He also claims the United States made a concerted effort to infiltrate the government, especially the Australian Labor Party “not as a whole ideology, but rather key individuals such as Mark Arbib and a number of others”.

Mr Assange told 7News of his fear when senior figures of the United States and media players called for his assassination and torture as well as threatening his family and colleagues.

He would have liked to return to Australia immediately but intelligence indicated it was not safe to do so.

"We're an organisation that promotes disclosure from powerful organisations but we are now in a position where we are putting our staff on non-disclosure agreements," Mr Assange said.

In contrast, the WikiLeaks founder is extremely humbled by the “extraordinary” support he has received from the Australian public.

“It’s not just that the Australian people are fighting for us, it is that they are fighting for a principle we represent,” Mr Assange said.

“It is both surreal, and very gratifying… it is this support which has kept us alive and able to publish.

“In Australia, we went from a position last year where we saw the Australian Attorney-General saying he would assist any country anywhere in the world to prosecute me, that he would consider cancelling my Australian passport and my citizenship.

“We went from that position, that reactionary position, done not for the Australian people but to send a message of conformity and compliance, to what we see now.”

Mr Assange said the organization is defining a new standard on the right to speak freely.

“We are a source protection agency, we protect our sources... our sources are therefore kept secret,” Mr Assange said.

He faces an extradition hearing in London next week but Julian Asssange knows that is only the beginning.

“The US Administration has a long memory.”

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