
Julian Assange Seeks Asylum In Ecuador Embassy - damohasi
http://www.ecuadorembassyuk.org.uk/announcements/statement-on-julian-assange
======
rickmb
Seems to me Assange isn't so much afraid of being extradited to US (there is a
truckload of ways to fight that if it ever comes to that) but of actually
being convicted in Sweden.

The Piratebay trials have shown how corrupted the Swedish justice system can
be, with both police, prosecution and judges having proven private connections
with the copyright industry (which in itself is not only organized and
financed by the US, but also actively backed up by the US government).

Being extradited to the US would make him a martyr, but being convicted for
rape in Sweden would damage his reputation beyond repair. I doubt if the US
even wants to deal with the whole circus of getting Assange extradited if
there's an easier way to take him out of play.

~~~
objclxt
It depresses me that people are trying to make comparisons between a copyright
infringement case and a rape accusation. Copyright infringement and rape are
rather different. This should be obvious. I really don't know where to begin
there - I know this community is male dominated, but rape is a incredibly
serious crime. Piracy may well be a 'victimless crime'. Rape is not.

Two women have accused Assange of rape. They have a fundamental right under
law to due process. Assange is attempting to deny them this due process by
evading the Swedish courts.

Sweden's justice system really isn't corrupt. Assange knows this. His lawyers
know this. If Assange thought he wouldn't get a fair trial he would have
argued this point in the English courts. Many people have avoided extradition
from the UK to various unpleasant places on the basis they wouldn't get a fair
trial.

His legal argument was flimsy at best. Assange tried to argue Sweden lacked
the authority to issue the arrest warrant in the first place, an argument that
was basically laughed out of court. However, the English courts have had a lot
of patience for Assange, and have offered him several avenues of appeal on the
basis it's an important and high profile case. The Supreme Court even allowed
an additional submission after their judgement (this is very unusual).

This is a criminal case involving two parties. Both parties have guaranteed
rights. Think about the women involved for a second. They have accused Assange
of rape. Perhaps they are lying: Assange is after all innocent until proven
guilty. But is it out of the question they are telling the truth? No, it's
not.

And that is why Assange should really willingly return to Sweden to face his
accusers. He isn't willing, and his arguments about fearing the US really
aren't that convincing given the UK is more than happy to extradite people to
the states.

~~~
lawnchair_larry
He is not being charged with rape. He is being charged with intentionally
tearing a condom during consensual intercourse. It's pretty offensive to
compare this with rape, imo.

~~~
cyrus_
Actually, he's not being charged with anything yet. The warrant is simply to
require him to come to Sweden for questioning, after which time the prosecutor
will decide whether to charge him with any crime. At the moment, he has only
been accused of a crime.

Also, it is my understanding that the accusation was brought by the police
officers after reading the statements given by the women in question. They had
only come to ask if Assange could be required to take an HIV test.

------
sp332
Why Ecuador, in particular? I just learned that they've adopted the US dollar
as their currency, following devaluation of their old currency in 1999.

Edit: I checked, and Ecuador does have extradition treaties with both the UK
and the US. I don't know about Sweden though.

Edit2: according to
[http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/06/19/assange_seeks...](http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/06/19/assange_seeks_asylum_in_ecuador)
Ecuador has a treaty with the EU as well. But moving to Ecuador puts the
decision in Ecuadorian hands instead of UK, so maybe he thinks they will stand
up for him better.

~~~
xefer
I have a feeling he'll be "couch surfing" from embassy to embassy to delay the
extradition as long as possible.

~~~
marshray
You don't think he'll be arrested the minute he sets foot out of the
Ecuadorian?

~~~
DrJokepu
I really don't think that the Metropolitan Police is going to put officers
outside the Ecuador Assembly 24/7 just in case Julian Assange leaves. It just
doesn't sound like a good use of the officers' time.

~~~
marshray
The US would be happy to volunteer a few if it's a question of manpower.
Britain would probably commit their own just to avoid that kind of situation.

 _It just doesn't sound like a good use of the officers' time._

They've had the guy detained without charge for 500-odd days. Facing some
international criticism and generally looking like hypocrites whenever they
want to criticize some other country for having political prisoners. The case
has been through their Supreme Court and now there's yet another country
involved in this international incident.

When I was in London last year there were helicopters circling continuously in
some places. If Assange gives them the slip somehow, it's not going to be
because the local police preferred to prioritize something else that day.

~~~
planetguy
> The US would be happy to volunteer a few if it's a question of manpower

How many times? This is nothing to do with the US. This is a UK-Sweden
extradition of an Australian citizen. If the US DoJ ever gets off its ass and
decides to press charges against Julian Assange (they've been sitting on their
hands for a couple of years now) it's not gonna do it via some subtle cloak-
and-dagger six-country shuffle, it'll just show up with a letter that says "o
hai extradition plz".

~~~
marshray
Unless they prefer to detour his plane through Egypt or Syria first. Yeah,
that happens sometimes.

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opminion
Assange interviewed the Ecuatorian president for his program at RT:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE-1-9QXd3Y>

The Ecuatorian president is introduced as "populist", yet the interview is
non-critical. I thought "populist" was globally pejorative?

 _Edit: the president himself uses the term in a negative context_

~~~
dsrguru
I live in the U.S., and I've never heard "populist" used pejoratively. Where
are you from and what does it connote when used pejoratively in your country?

~~~
andreasvc
Here in Europe it's used to refer to politicians who pander to the sentiments
of the common people, without having a well thought out long-term strategy;
e.g., "I'll lower all taxes AND give free healthcare for all."

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pvnick
How dire is Assange's situation? Is it really possible that the US will try to
imprison or even execute him?

Edit: I know were not talking directly about the US here, but the reason I
made the jump is that I see Sweden as a lot more likely to allow the US to
bully it into giving up Assange

~~~
wilfra
The US has nothing to do with this. Sweden is trying to have him extradited
from the UK for a sexual assault charge.

~~~
mcantelon
He's not even charged in Sweden. It's fairly obvious the Swedish angle is
being used to get him in a country from which he can be extradicted to the US.

~~~
luriel
Every time I hear this argument I don't know if to laugh or to cry.

Assange himself pointed out that it is much easier to be extradited to the US
from the UK (which extradites to the US almost anyone for pretty much any
reason) than from Sweden (that as far as i know very rarely if ever extradites
to the US).

If he was really afraid of being extradited to the US, he would _want to be in
Sweden rather than in the UK_.

~~~
AlexMuir
But this is more palatable all round.

The UK can send him to Sweden, saying they complied with EU rules. The UK can
then relax, and not deal with the wrath of Australia being pissed off - an ex-
commonwealth country.

Once he's convicted in Sweden, he can serve the two-months or whatever. Then
he can be extradited to the US. Sweden can relax - he's a convicted sex
offender now, extradited from the UK. It's harder for him to get legal support
in Sweden - he's English-speaking, as are the majority of his supporters.

And the US gets their man. No government wants some renegade out there leaking
their secrets.

The UK and US will obviously have discussed his extradition. They've agreed to
try the Swedish route first. It doesn't have a political cost for the UK
government.

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mc32
Why not Argentina? He could take advantage of their antipathy toward the UK.
Too transparent?

~~~
objclxt
It's not the UK that wants him - it's Sweden.

~~~
cmdkeen
He's also been bailed by the British courts for the purposes of the
extradition process. So he may be committing offences in terms of that.
Concrete offences that a normal extradition treaty might cover but that the
Swedish "we want to question" warrant may not outside the EU.

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kakaroto_BR
Fool, he shoud come to Brazil, best land to any foreign person escaping law.

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laic
Apparently he is inspired by the blind Chinese lawyer seeking asylum in US
embassy.

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nirvana
Julian's situation seems very weird to me, given the stories about how
secretive he was, how he kept in hiding, etc. At the same time, he was very
clearly and publicly the face of wikileaks.

Why did he not simply remain anonymous? All that Wikileaks has done could be
done without having a public figurehead, right?

Being public seems to have been the tactical error. (or was he trying to be
anonymous, but got outed at some point and then given that he couldn't be
anonymous anymore he decided to embrace it?)

~~~
danielweber
According to the people at the New York Times he worked with, he became
transformed by his celebrity.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.htm...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html?pagewanted=all)
goes into their history. I'm tempted to quote a few paragraphs but it wouldn't
be fair since there is a very large picture being painted.

~~~
gringomorcego
Hahahahahahahaha.

Guess what Bill Keller also wrote?

[http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/08/opinion/the-i-can-t-
believ...](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/08/opinion/the-i-can-t-believe-i-m-
a-hawk-club.html)

