Lawyers representing Julian Assange have relayed a rejection of an agreement proposed by Ecuador's President Moreno, where the U.K. made assurances they wouldn't let Assange be extradited to any country where he would be executed. How reassuring.
wikimedia/Cancillería del Ecuador, CC BY-SA 2.0
Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno has been trying to put pressure to force Assange out of the embassy. Assange has been isolated within the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, not having stepped out of the diplomatic grounds since. That's 6 years of being practically locked up.
This year saw measures imposed on him that made things worse, as draconian protocols where introduced to restrict his freedom to communicate with the outside world, and the free access from visitors. They cut off his communication for a while, and his lawyer was even denied access for a period of time. As far as I know, he hasn't made any public statement due to the restrictions imposed upon him.
Today, Moreno spoke of the deal struck between Quito and London in a radio interview. The government of Ecuador has received assurance, he said, that the U.K. will not extradite Assange to any nation where he could face the death penalty.
I would think that a nation could say "we won't execute him, we promise", and then do it in the end anyways. What's anyone going to do? The U.S. is the obvious nation of reference. Maybe they could say the charges won't include espionage which could lead to execution, or maybe they will exclude execution from the charges all together. But is that really something to aspire towards? To be extradited to the U.S., but just not face the death penalty. How great, warm and fuzzy of an offer is that really?
Moreno said:
"The way has been cleared for Mr Assange to take the decision to leave in near-liberty."
Near-liberty, eh? What the hell does that mean? I have a realistic interpretation. It means no liberty really, because extradition is still on the table, just minus the execution part! Before it was extradition to face a sham- and show-trial for potential life imprisonment or execution, and now, it's just potential life imprisonment. Sounds great! No wonder Assange isn't jumping on this deal.
Assange still facing jail time for bailing on his bail to avoid extradition to Sweden at the time by seeking asylum inside the embassy. The U.K. says they will top the jail time to 6 months. Moreno addressed Assange's residency today, saying:
"I do not like the presence of Mr. Assange in the Ecuadorean embassy, but we have been respectful of his human rights and with that respect in mind we think that six years is too long for someone to remain nearly incarcerated in an embassy."
But for Assange, going to jail for 6 months, and then getting extradited to the U.S. for life in prison, but not execution, doesn't sound appealing. Would it to you?
Assange's Lawyer, Bary Pollack, said the deal was not acceptable. Extradition is off the table for any deal to be accepted. It seems pretty clear that the U.S. will pounce and try to get Assange shortly after he leaves the embassy, as former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last year that arresting Assange was a priority. And that appears to be true, given the recent filing error where the case to seal his charges was used as a template with his name left in place.
Near-liberty isn't liberty, of safety from being persecuted, as Pollack told the Telegraph:
"The suggestion that as long as the death penalty is off the table, Mr Assange need not fear persecution is obviously wrong."
"No one should have to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information."
"Since such charges appear to have been brought against Mr Assange in the United States, Ecuador should continue to provide him asylum."
Assange and WikiLeaks have done the world a favor by releasing information that's in the public interest.
References:
- UK has provided ‘guarantees’ Assange won’t be extradited to face death penalty – Ecuador’s president
- Julian Assange rejects UK-Ecuador deal for him to leave the embassy
- Julian Assange 'Supposed' to Get Internet/Phone Rights Restored Today (But Hasn't Yet), Ecuador Imposing Draconian Protocols
- Assange Secretly Charged by U.S., Sealed Court Documents Reveal in Copy-Paste Bungle
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