Swedish Pirate Party to host WikiLeaks servers

A Swedish political party dedicated to increasing privacy rights has agreed to host and provide security for the online whistleblower site WikiLeaks as part of the group's political mission.

The Swedish Pirate Party signed an agreement with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over dinner last Sunday, according to reports Tuesday. The group will take over management and security for several WikiLeaks servers. Party officials said the move will make it more difficult for the U.S. to pressure Sweden into taking action against WikiLeaks.

The Pirate Party was founded in 2006 and seeks to reform patent and copyright laws, advocate for the right to privacy and increase the transparency of government operations. Its founding in Sweden sparked an international Pirate Party movement that is now represented in numerous European countries.

"We welcome the help provided by the Pirate Party," Assange said in a statement. "Our organizations share many values and I am looking forward to future ways we can help each other improve the world."

WikiLeaks said recently it will release a further 15,000 classified U.S. documents about the war in Afghanistan despite increasing criticism from American authorities. Assange was also recently hired as a columnist for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, allowing him to apply for protection as a journalist under the country's constitution.