MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Cash strapped London police lifts standing watch for Assange at Ecuadorian embassy
London's cash-strapped police will no longer keep officers stationed outside the Ecuadorean embassy to catch WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up inside for over three years, the force said. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesThe prize for Muppet-of-the-Day goes to the owner of this naive comment:
Oct 13th, 2015 - 08:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0“I don't think a couple of bobbies round the clock is causing that much drain on man power.”
Is the rightful owner going to come forward and collect the prize?
Anyone?
It's a trap! He will think he can now get out and they will have him. Very sneaky ploy.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 09:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0Let Assange move to South America. This way the insidious moron will be away from the publicity he doesnt deserve.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 10:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0Why is it necessary to have diplomatic relations with Ecuador?
Oct 13th, 2015 - 11:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0They abuse diplomatic immunity to protect people suspected of criminal offences and are not welcome here anymore.
@ 3 brasherboot
Oct 13th, 2015 - 12:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0DO YOU MIND!!!
We have enough stupid, lying, devious and crooked bastards here already, all of them in the Broad Fraud for a start. :o)
It makes no difference. The minute he steps outside of that embassy he will be arrested.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 12:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0He won't be able to leave the UK, not even in Ecuador's 'diplomatic' pouch, and if he tries he'll be arrested.
Having a couple of police there doesn't make that much difference. He may tried to hide out in the crowd, but eventually he'll be caught, and sent to Sweden to face questions about sexual assault and rape. Then he may face charges.
What won't happen is him being deported to the USA (like he has always claimed) because quite frankly he really isn't important enough for them to care.
Ecuador gave asylum to a suspected rapist!
Oct 13th, 2015 - 01:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@3. Come on. Want to take Snowden as an example? He's sitting in russia spouting off. He's even making stuff up now to keep press attention.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 02:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@6. Please. I take it that you are assuming the actions of an innocent person. Buy a ticket. Leave the building. Travel to the airport 32 minutes. Boarding procedures. On the other hand, go to the roof, wait for the helicopter. Fly to the nearest airfield. All that's really necessary is a field where a light aircraft can land and take off. At the right time, a light aircraft could even land and take off from the M25. Then it's off to France/Belgium/Netherlands. Board a scheduled Avianca/LAN/TAME flight or an Ecuadorian Air Force transport. It isn't that difficult. Unless there's information to permit a couple of RAF Typhoons to catch up before leaving UK airspace. How long would it take to get the Europeans out of bed or up from the dinner table? Especially the French who will already been rat-arsed.
But I accept your assertion about deportation to the USA. How long was he in the UK? Even in custody. Not one single approach from the USA.
Sweden is one of the most difficult countries in the world to extradite people from, especially for “political reasons”, even for other EU countries never mind countries with states like Texas.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 03:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Britain and the US on the other hand you just have to pick up the phone and they are on the next flight to Gitmo, via Algeria and Jordan.
Really believable, why you say you don’t want to go back to Sweden, Jules.
We may soon see how pissed off the US intelligence community and others are at him.
If he gets whacked after leaving the embassy, then yup, someone is still pissed off.
How soon after leaving the embassy he get whacked, is a measure of how pissed off.
Might even start raining Polonium.
The Saxons should stop it. Give safe passage to the boy to come to Ecuador.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 03:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This problem so small cause a significant shock to Brazil and America.
Remember the case of Ronald Biggs?
Nostril #10 If we let him go and he comes there your mother isnt safe :-)
Oct 13th, 2015 - 03:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@8 Conquerer
Oct 13th, 2015 - 03:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You still have to show your passport when leaving the UK, even if you are going to another EU country. And since Assange is Australian, he won't just be able to waltz through the EU citizen lane, he'd have to queue up at the non-EU citizen lane and show his passport, visa etc...
So it isn't so easy for him to just disappear out of the country. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it won't be easy. And any attempt by Ecuador to smuggle him out would fail, and would likely end up with Ecuador being censured for not following the Vienna convention.
@10 Brasileiro
So you want to foist a potential rapist on Ecuador? Not only a suspected rapist but someone who'll sponge off the Ecuadorian people?
No civilised, law abiding country would accept Assange, just like none of them would accept Snowden.
So you are left with Ecuador, whose President thought he could make a quick political victory out of this, and what he ended up with is an albatross around his neck.
I've got a feeling that this 'reduction' in policing is to give Ecuador an out, so they can kick Assange out of the door and wash their hands of him.
But once he's out, he'll be arrested (for breaking his bail), and then extradited to Sweden, where he can face his accusers like a real man would.
And he won't be sent to the USA, because he really isn't as important as he thinks he is. In fact, he's a nobody really, just another 15 mins of fame, who then though he was above the laws of ordinary mortal men.
Well he isn't, and he will face justice. And if they bring charges against him and he's found guilty, he will go to prison. And if they don't bring charges against him, he's just put himself into prison for the last 3 years.
What an idiot he is.
#10 tobi the white man racist shines through like a light house in a Maine fog in August.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 04:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Saxons....Biggs? This young idiot knows NOTHING.
Ronald Biggs
Oct 13th, 2015 - 04:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CofICfeCEo
@14 Brasileiro
Oct 13th, 2015 - 04:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0He had a good run for his money, however he ended right back where he started.
Banged up, almost till he died.
Go on Jules, make a break for it, I dare you.
@15
Oct 13th, 2015 - 04:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What is Jules?
Slang for Julian.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 05:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0June, July, August.......?
Oct 13th, 2015 - 05:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The behaviour of Ecuador in this sorry story has been appalling. Just because Rafael Correa has a problem with the US over the death of his father who was gaoled for drug offences in that country we have the nonsensical asylum afforded to Assage under a system which is not recognised in Europe indeed nowhere outside Latin America.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 05:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Rafael Correa is a socialist dictator in Latin America.
There are socialist dictators all over Latin America, whats new?
Oct 13th, 2015 - 06:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If anyone thinks the cost of this 24 hour surveillance, 7 days a week is insignificant or that it won't be impacting on the police budget, then you are naive to say the least and clearly have no comprehension of just how massively police budgets have been cut over the past 5 years and will continue to be cut.
Oct 13th, 2015 - 08:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Numbers are no so short, I bet every single man hour is overtime at time and half or double for the covert surveillance team as well as the uniformed officers.
Theresa May intends to cut police numbers to 80,000 officers, less than most banana republics. Our British bobby is about to become a rare thing indeed.
I had to laugh at the suggestion that Assange would present his passport as Julian Assange at the airport. He will have numerous passports by now in several names. Also on an outbound flight, you don't actually have to present your passport to anyone these days, you print off your own boarding card and walk right through to the plane door without a single look at the passport.
Assage has lived on Ecuadorian territory long enough to acquire citizenship. Then, in a country where bribery reins, he will “buy” a diplomatic passport and will leave the UK under diplomatic immunity -------------- perhaps!
Oct 14th, 2015 - 06:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0@10, 16, 18 brasshole
Oct 14th, 2015 - 04:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Give safe passage to the boy to come to Ecuador.”
Why not ? just one more rapist in South America. Maybe you could invite him to stay with you in Curitiba...he could then rape your daughter.
“June, July, August.......?”
That's right asshole.. keep on showing us how ignorant you are.
@ 22 gordo1
Oct 14th, 2015 - 04:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No, diplomatic immunity has to be agreed by the host country in advance.
They could give him a CD (Consular Diplomatic) Passport but this would not give him any immunity.
A paper which has been around for a while now and which has been presented at the recent ACM: https://weakdh.org/imperfect-forward-secrecy-ccs15.pdf
Oct 17th, 2015 - 10:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This paper details one important element in the war that the NSA is prosecuting against the American people.
@25
Oct 18th, 2015 - 03:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Ha ha... Hypatia, the proud “American”, sure.... :-)
Your post is not really relevant to this discussion, a man avoiding extradition to Sweden and investigation for rape charges, and his asylum/imprisonment at an embassy to avoid British authorities.
Your post and your link are just more irrelevant mudslinging against the USA.
While we are off-topic anyway, “Hepatia”, let's remind everyone:
Nisman was murdered and government is covering up their involvement.
Argentina and her commodities, and her future, will very shortly belong to the Chinese.
Can you say, “是的，主人”?
.watch for Assange
Oct 18th, 2015 - 07:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0well,
he has not escaped yet ,any takers, when?
@27 Briton
Oct 19th, 2015 - 03:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Apparently he's 'complaining' of pain in his shoulder and chest, and Ecuador has asked the British Government to allow he 'free' passage to get medical care.
To which the British Government replied: “He's free to leave any time and seek medical attention, they won't stop him. He will, of course, be arrested if he steps outside of the embassy.”
So, despite the fact that there is no overt police presence, cowardly Assange still won't leave, and his aliment (whether real or feigned) won't get him a get out of jail free card.
One day Ecuador will pull the rug from under Assange, and he'll be kicked out, arrested and sent to Sweden to answer the allegations brought against him.
If he is charged he'll have his day in court. If found guilty he'll be given a prison sentence. If he's not charged or found not guilty, he'll have put himself into a self imposed prison for the last 3 years.
But one thing I know is that he won't get deported to the US. He'll be exposed as the low-life lying scum that he is, and hopefully shoved on a plane back to Australia, where he'll never be allowed to leave again, as I doubt any country would give him a visa.
And the most amusing part of all this is the fact that he's done it to himself.
He destroyed any credibility wikileaks ever had (which actually wasn't much), he destroyed any credibility that he had as founder of wikileaks (which really wasn't very much), and when the US don't even attempt to have him deported, he'll be shown as the lying, attention seeking whore that he is.
And the US didn't have to spend one dollar of tax payers money to achieve it.
very true.
Oct 19th, 2015 - 07:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Its not possible to make this stuff up: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/09/fbi-intel-chiefs-decry-deep-cynicism-over-cyber-spying-programs/
Oct 21st, 2015 - 05:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Don't tell us Hepatia,
Oct 21st, 2015 - 09:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0Assange will be returned to Ecuador within the next 25 years, lol
Isn't it 22 years now? Oh no, I forget Hepititis C is rolling the 25 years, hence it is always 25 years.
Oct 21st, 2015 - 01:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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