Julian Assange has criticised Visa, MasterCard and PayPal for blocking donations to WikiLeaks, slamming the companies as "instruments of US foreign policy".

Assange, who is in custody in London on sexual assault charges, dictated a message to his mother Christine Assange which was relayed to an Australian news channel.

He said: "We now know that Visa, MasterCard and PayPal are instruments of US foreign policy. It's not something we knew before.

"I am calling on the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral acts."

Australian-born Assange, 39, said he will continue to publish thousands of sensitive documents on his whistle-blowing website which has caused controversy with the release of confidential US diplomatic cables.

"My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed," he said.

"These circumstances shall not shake them. If anything, this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct."

WikiLeaks founder Assange is currently jailed in London over an arrest warrant issued in Sweden, where prosecutors are investigating alleged sex crimes. Assange‘s lawyer, Mark Stephens, said in a German media interview published on 12 December that the case was part of a US-led conspiracy.

Christine Assange said her son, who will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday had been heartened by the messages of support he had received. "As a mother I am asking the world to stand up for my brave son," she said.

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