MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US accuses Assange of “wild assertions” and Ecuador of “sideshow” at OAS

Spokesperson Nuland: the case is a matter between the U.K., Sweden and now Ecuador

The Obama administration on Monday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of making “wild assertions” about US persecution to deflect attention from sex allegations he faces questioning for in Sweden.

The Obama administration on Monday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of making “wild assertions” about US persecution to deflect attention from sex allegations he faces questioning for in Sweden.
The State Department said Assange's case has nothing to do with the United States or WikiLeaks publication of secret US documents and is solely a matter for Britain, Sweden and Ecuador. Assange is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been since June. He was granted asylum by Ecuador on Thursday, but the UK said they would prevent Assange from leaving their country.

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also berated Ecuador for granting Assange asylum from possible US persecution at its embassy in London. And, she said Ecuador's attempt to have the Organization of American States take up the matter was a “sideshow.”

Assange “is making all sorts of wild assertions about us, when, in fact, his issue with the government of the United Kingdom has to do with whether he is going to face justice in Sweden for something that has nothing to do with Wikileaks” Nuland told reporters.

“He is clearly trying to deflect attention away from the real issue, which is whether he is going to face justice in Sweden,” she said. “That case has nothing to do with us, it's a matter between the U.K., Sweden and now Ecuador has inserted itself.”

In a speech from the Ecuadorian embassy on Sunday, Assange proclaimed himself the victim of a US “witch hunt” that he urged President Barack Obama to renounce.

“The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters,” Assange said, referring specifically to Pfc. Bradley Manning, who awaits trial in the scandal. He said the US risks “dragging us all into a dark, repressive world in which journalists live under fear of prosecution.”

He made no mention of the sex case, for which he faces extradition to answer questions about allegations he assaulted two women. Assange and his supporters claim the Swedish case is the first move of a Washington-orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the US The US and Sweden dispute this.

Assange took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago and was last week granted diplomatic asylum by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Assange praised Ecuador on Sunday as ”a courageous Latin American nation (that) took a stand for justice” by offering him sanctuary.

Inside the embassy, Assange is out of reach of British authorities although Britain insists that if he steps outside, he will be detained and sent to Sweden.