Julian Assange: escape to Ecuador? Update: trapped in embassy

[Kitsunegari]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...192338226.html

Officials in Ecuador are claiming that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has asked them for political asylum in their country, a request they are reportedly considering.
"Ecuador is studying and analyzing the request," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters Tuesday in Quito, according to Reuters.
Assange currently faces extradition charges to Sweden over alleged sex crimes. Assange has denied the allegations. He is not currently charged with any crime, but officials in Sweden say they want to question him over the allegations.

Seems like a good idea and, while i think he is a doucher, i certainly hope he can defy the UK and the Swedish feminazi police. Note that Ecuador's current government is close friends with Venezuela, and might see this as an opportunity to piss off the US.

Now stuck in embassy:
http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-juli...3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

[War lord]

Shoot the sleazy git, if he's as innocent as his followers claim why is he trying to dodge questioning?

[boofhead]

Because he might get extradited to the US and sentenced to 40,000 years in a cell with Bubba.

[Exarch]

might have something to do with the new laws Obama has signed against Wikileaks and against potential 'bradley mannings'

[boofhead]

His mum supports him

THE mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says her son has shown clear thinking in seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Christine Assange said she desperately hopes Ecuador will decide to protect her son.

If it does not, she said other third-world governments who've been affected by US greed and corruption must come forward to offer protection.

"When I heard about it this morning I thought good on you mate," Ms Assange said today. "It shows a level of clear thinking given there are absolutely no proper legal processes in this case."

Ms Assange said her son was a political prisoner, and a claim for political asylum was an obvious course of action.

She said third-world countries felt grateful to her son for exposing aid rorts and worse, perpetrated on them by the US and other first-world countries.

"I hope Ecuador will grant him asylum, and if not another third-world country," Ms Assange said.

"I hope the third world can stand up for what's morally right when the first world can't and won't because they've got their snouts in the trough, rolling over for US greed and big business."

She said her son was a victim of decisions by the US, Britain, Sweden and Australia to abandon proper legal process.

"Julian is a political prisoner, a journalist, a publisher of the truth about corruption, war crimes, kidnapping, blackmail and manipulation," she said.

"He remains uncharged and unquestioned on a crime which if you explore it has absolutely no basis. Of course he would seek asylum."

Ms Assange said she was not told in advance of her son's asylum plan.

"He can't tell me anything on the phone because it's listened to all the time," she said.

She said she couldn't recall anything in the WikiLeaks cables that would have made Ecuador an obvious choice.

"All I can say is the third world is very grateful to WikiLeaks for exposing to the rest of the world what America and some first world countries have been doing in their countries."

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news...-1226402451835

Mothers know best, so I say CASE CLOSED.

[Exarch]

pity, i was hoping he would run for senator in australia but considering how disloyal our government is towards its own citizens, this is perhaps that safest choice

[YuriVII]

Good I am glad there is a corner in this globe for whistleblowers to be able to run to because they are not safe in democratic countries.

[Simon Cashmere]

I imagine that Assange did not choose Ecuador randomly, but probably because an arrangement was made in advance with them for him to seek asylum. I actually would have chosen Venezuela myself. Now that Ecuador has done this, the US will be straight on the phone to threaten Ecuador to give him up. Will Ecuador give in to such threats? Could well do. It's unlikely that somewhere like Venezeuala ever would. Venezuela's not a bad place to live in exhile either. Assange will have to hope that Ecuador stands firm, although the threats will be substantial against them to give him up.

One thing for certain is that Assange cannot come back to Australia, otherwise he'd be on the first plane back to the US. At the time this story broke, the US State Department was on the phone to the leaders of New Zealand and Australia requesting that they make statements condemning Assange. Our puppet leader Gillard gleefully obliged, I understand that NZ refused. Good for them.

pity, i was hoping he would run for senator in australia but considering how disloyal our government is towards its own citizens, this is perhaps that safest choice

He would be on a plane to Gitmo prior to getting through Australian customs.

[Sphere]

I don't know how this is all going to end, but I do know it will involve chlamydia.

[mongrel]

An interesting movie title.

[Condottiere 40K]

Would be funnier if he sought sanctuary with the Russians or Chinese.

[Exarch]

Ecuador did offer Mr Assange asylum back in 2010, hence why he chose Ecuador.

The Russians could very well sell him out to the americans for some sort of diplomatic understanding; the Chinese are strictly against interfering against other countries' domestic issues; that's why it was such a storm when the Chen Guang Chen thing happened, and why it was resolved to the satisfaction for all involved.

[Derbiean]

Would be funnier if he sought sanctuary with the Russians or Chinese.

That would be amusing to see....

[Condottiere 40K]

There was a rumour that he was sitting on a motherlode of Russian data.

[Exarch]

There was a rumour that he was sitting on a motherlode of Russian data.

along with a lot of other data from other sources it seems. It appears that despite the best efforts of governments *cough*Obama*cough* to scare potential leakers into silence, wikileaks keeps getting stuff from ppl

[Exarch]

all i can say as an Australian is that our government has failed in its duties to protect one of our citizens. That's what happens when you have a ranga as PM, let alone a woman.

[Simon Cashmere]

all i can say as an Australian is that our government has failed in its duties to protect one of our citizens. That's what happens when you have a ranga as PM, let alone a woman.

I hate to say it, but it wouldn't have mattered who it was, unless some crazy like Bob Brown was PM. Liberal or Labor, they would have said, yes this man Assange is a dangerous criminal, because that is what they were ordered to do. Even though he has committed no crime under Australian law. Arguably has committed no crime under US law either, journalists in the US post classified leaks all the time. The problem was these leaks really embarrassed the US which infuriated them. You don't come back from that - and these trumped up charges in Sweden are just the US doing a 'get square' honey trap to bring proceedings against him - the gloves are off when the stakes are that high. If they could get away with killing him they absolutely would, he's just a bit too public for them to do so now.

The US is able to threaten, cajole, direct, order just about any country on the planet to do what it wants. Only China and Russia have the capacity to say 'No', and North Korea says No because it's nuts. Everyone else pretty much has to fall in line or at least say they are. Including Australia.

[Adar]

I think the silliest part of all this is that he is working so hard to avoid a case where he got a huge chance of winning and the worst case situation is a fine and suspended sentence.

[King Gambrinus]

I think the silliest part of all this is that he is working so hard to avoid a case where he got a huge chance of winning and the worst case situation is a fine and suspended sentence.

I think here's the main problem. Assange, along with the media, is doing himself no favours by trying to escape as more and more people are actually convinced by this sexual assault case. Now he's broken British Rule of Law.


The reality is he's scared of being deported to America because he knows they'll not like him the instant he gets there. All these American patriots should just admit he caught them with their pants down and just back down. The leaks were very much a storm in a teacup anyway given the rampant corruption in internal American politics, let alone international.


I hope Ecuador accept his request.

[mrmouth]

I'm actually quite happy with the wikileaks cables. They provided an insight into a country that for the most part, thoughtfully deals with issues on all levels. Trust me, I begin to wonder about my own country at times as well.

Thats said, people who are predisposed to not liking the US might have seen things differently. I was surprised that the more honest people here that are not terribly huge fans of the US' polices saw it how I saw it.

My dislike for Assange really has nothing to do with wikileaks, but the various accounts by people who knew him that show he is a formidable d-bag.