MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Wikileaks Assange “declines to comply” police order and remains at Ecuadorean embassy
Julian Assange fears he could end in the US Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is ignoring a London Metropolitan Police order to surrender himself at a police station, his representative has said. Susan Benn said he was advised to “decline to comply” and will remain inside the Ecuadorian embassy while his application for asylum is processed.
Officers from the Met's extradition unit delivered a note to Mr Assange at the London embassy on Thursday. Assange wants to avoid being sent to Sweden to face rape and assault accusations.
The police letter required that the 40-year-old surrender himself to Belgravia police station at 11:30 BST on Friday. Under international diplomatic arrangements, the police cannot go into the embassy to arrest Mr Assange.
In a statement, Ms Benn, a committee member of Mr Assange's defence fund, said: “This should not be considered any sign of disrespect. Under both international and domestic UK law asylum assessments take priority over extradition claims.
”The issues faced by Mr Assange are serious. His life and liberty and the life and liberty of his organisation and those associated with it are at stake.“
The Wikileaks website published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments and international businesses.
Mr Assange fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could be sent on to the United States to face charges over Wikileaks and that there, he could face the death penalty.
Ms Benn said it was ”only a matter of time“ before US authorities begin extradition proceedings against him.
She said: ”Mr Assange did not feel safe from US extradition in the UK. We are all too aware of the abuses of the US-UK extradition treaty. Although Mr Assange has been trapped in the UK under dangerous circumstances, he has at least had the freedom to apply for political asylum.
“It is in this context that Julian has made the difficult decision to seek refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy to ask for asylum. Julian will remain in the embassy under the protection of the Ecuadorian government while evidence for his application is being assembled and processed.”
Mr Assange, whose bail conditions include staying at a named address between 22:00 and 08:00 BST, arrived at the embassy in Knightsbridge on 19 June.
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Read all commentsAhhhh……… the ever changing tides of history…………
Jun 30th, 2012 - 05:36 am 0Once again, as during the XIX and early XX century, the Libertarians of this world seek refuge in South America....................
Time to repay our huge debt to them, acquired during the last half of the XX’th Century….
Welcome home, Mr. Julian Assange…………..
Yeah who cares about his filthy sexual habits, those two Swedish ladies got what they might have expected if not quite what they deserved.
Jun 30th, 2012 - 08:23 am 0Any way being described as the lousiest screw ever is surely enough punishment for this freedom loving condom hater.
He would fit in beautifully in Benny's Hairies and maybe the President will invite him over for coffee one evening to “compare notes”. She's not really his type as he seems to prefer blue eyed blondes (don't we all) but hey any port in a storm.
Getting to Heathrow is likely to prove more exciting.
This punkboy could be a English troll to hook on Latin America by way of oil reserved Ecuador.
Jun 30th, 2012 - 08:57 am 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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