Julian Assange?
As I said in my post, This is Not about Assange, some two years ago, I felt very strongly that WikiLeaks was a necessary counterbalance to Governments who wanted to keep their actions out of sight of public scrutiny.
As an Australian, I was appalled that my Government condemned him the minute American politicians said that he should be assassinated.
As an Englishwoman, I have been disgusted how the UK has treated him and have used the ‘Process of Law’ to virtually imprison him for two years and, eventually, to agree to send him to Sweden – from where he would, inevitably,have been sent to the US.
I repeat: he has broken no laws in Australia, the UK or, even, the USA – since none of his actions occurred in any one of those countries. One may not approve of his actions – and I aware that some here do not – but the Law should be based on ‘Natural Justice’ and not Disapproval.
I am quite sure that Ecuador has its own agenda in granting Assange Political Asylum – but I, for one, am pleased that they have done so.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I may be cynical, Boadicea, but I think that Ecuador’s motive is financial. They do have an extradition treaty with the USA after all. The man has been accused of sexual assault in Sweden and should return there to face his accusers, leaving Wikileaks aside. If the charges against him are dismissed, he can perhaps sue the ladies involved and get enough money to repay those English people who stood surety for him to the tune of £200,000. I’m not sure why everyone seems convinced Sweden will immediately hand Assange over to the USA, but he’s certainly managed to make Wikileaks work for him so far.
Hmm, I agreed with you about Assange’s treatment by the UK govt. – though there may be a self-inflicted element in the drawn-out process, do you think? An extraditable crime is one which is against the law in both countries concerned – unlike the rancid eussr-warrant where this does not apply. Assange is charged with an extraditable crime…
How do you feel, for example, about the Dewani case?
Aha, Assange, very brave, Boadicea.
Whilst agreeing that transparency is generally considered a good thing, there are necessarily secrets, diplomatic and those gleaned by intelligence sources, which should remain secret.
Assange’s motives for revealing the stolen information seems to me to be purely to do with money, and little else.
If the US want him for whatever reason, why didn’t they apply for his extradition when he was in the UK?
I am aware of the dangers of the European Arrest Warrant, it requires very little burden of proof, but nevertheless is it legal, and the UK government must comply. He hasn’t been imprisoned here, but he was certainly a flight risk therefore he was somewhat restricted while on bail. One of the reasons for the length of his stay was because he appealed against the original decision to extradite him to Sweden.
He then fled breaking his bail conditions. I think the UK government has handled this rather heavy handedly, but should he eventually arrive in Ecuador, I suspect he will an easier target should the US have any intention of covert assassination, which I somehow doubt.
I have no idea if he is guilty of the Rape charges but he should go to Sweden and clear his name if he is innocent.
If he is extradited from Sweden, it won’t be for any capital crimes, it won’t be allowed!
Correction, he has not been formally charged, he’s wanted in Sweden for questioning, but reading the wording of the appeal court transcript they intend to charge him when or if he arrives!
If you remember I disagreed with you at the time. I always thought him a slime ball of the first water.
Amply borne out by the relinquishing of others bail money with gay abandon.
However, the carry on from the Foreign Office has left me open mouthed with their ineptitude, stupidity and general lack of nous in dealing with the little rat! Suggesting they storm the embassy and drag him forth and subsequently surrounding it with 50 police to ensure his capture if he were so daft as to emerge.
Strictly an “I declare” moment!
I regret to say the British govt are acting strictly as the lackeys of Washington here, their toadying haste to implement other’s agendas is disgusting.
Unfortunately Assange is rather stupid/arrogant. He should have seen the way the wind was blowing re extradition of others to the USA and the GB govt’s refusal to protect their own nationals, let alone others. He should have gone to Sweden voluntarily and then done a bunk from there, it would have been so much easier.
It appears a bit of an impasse, I can’t actually see that he can escape unless he changes nationality and becomes an Ecuadorian diplomat with full personal immunity. Then they could hardly stop him from boarding a plane to Ecuador, other than that I rather think that they could have him some way or another. There is some due entertainment here and a great deal of satisfaction at the thought of someone enduring what is tantamount to a life sentence in Ecuador. After all, several other people are facing life sentences for his machinations.
The whole thing smacks of mediaevalism and the clinging of supplicants to church altars for sanctuary.
How little anything changes in the odd 800 years!
Ecuador has a motiviation for this all its own. It’s one of the strongest members of the anti-US alliance in the region. Correa, Ecuador’s president, has an established reputation of sticking it to the US and its allies.
Boadicea: “As an Englishwoman, I have been disgusted how the UK has treated him and have used the ‘Process of Law’ to virtually imprison him for two years and, eventually, to agree to send him to Sweden – from where he would, inevitably,have been sent to the US.”
I don’t see the inevitability. The US does not want him here, Guantanamo maybe, but not in the US. He has committed no crime in the US. Bradley Manning (remember him) is rightfully in the brig. There’s not a court in the land that would issue a warrant for Assange. If embarrassing the US Government was a crime punishable by assassination the Capitol would be littered with the bodies of politicians.
His extended stay in the UK was mostly a result of his endless appeals. He now wishes to live in Ecuador (a country with it’s own human rights problems). I personally hope he can achieve that and gains the anonymity he deserves
LW.
I agree with you, the US have had two years to act, and have not done so. I think there was an initial over-reaction from the US which Boadicea has mentioned, but it would seem that it was based on lack of knowledge as to exactly what information he held which he had yet to disclose.
Looking a the UK media reaction recent developments, he has very few friends left!
This is a fairly typical reaction from The Telegraph:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100176958/heres-why-julian-assange-is-the-most-annoying-and-arrogant-person-in-the-whole-world/
Interestingly, the name Assange is rarely mentioned here in the US without the soubriquet of ‘terrorist’. Rather bears out LW’s assertion that they might like him ‘renditioned’ to Guantanamo, but seriously don’t want it onshore with an accompanying trial and the airing of mountains of dirty laundry.
Arrers, one might infer from this BBC article that the USA is still active behind the scenes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19303615
Whatever one’s opinions of Assange as a person, I don’t see how anyone can ignore his ‘rights’.
I very much doubt that he rocked up on the doorstep of the Ecuadorian Embassy without some idea that he would be made half-way welcome. Nor do I think that he relinquished ‘others bail money with gay abandon.’ I have no proof, of course – but both seem highly unlikely to me!
It seems to be generally forgotten that Assange was questioned about the alleged rape case before he left Sweden and was permitted to leave. It was only after America started making noises about what they’d like to do to him that the case was resuscitated.
I don’t know too much about European Arrest Warrants (I’m delighted to say!) but it seems to me that an awful lot of money has been expended on trying to get Assange physically back to Sweden for ‘questioning’ when a simple visit by the Swedish Authorities to the UK could have asked all the questions that were needed. If it is true that an Arrest Warrant can be issued simply to get answers to questions with no formal charges being laid that is pretty appalling.
As to his having very few friends left – one really doesn’t know. Governments and the Media have had two years to damage his reputation.
I’m quite sure Ecuador has its own agenda – but, personally, I’d have to be pretty desperate and fearful to contemplate spending the rest of my life there!
The Economist’s article may be of interest:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2012/08/britain-and-ecuador