[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19281492[/url]
[quote=BBC News][B]Ecuador has granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange two months after he took refuge in its London embassy while fighting extradition from the UK.[/B]
Its foreign minister accused the UK of making an "open threat" to enter its embassy to arrest Mr Assange.
Ricardo Patino said there were fears Mr Assange's human rights may be violated.
Mr Assange took refuge at the embassy in June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over assault and rape claims, which he denies.
He made the move after the UK's Supreme Court dismissed Mr Assange's bid to reopen his appeal against extradition and gave him a two-week grace period before extradition proceedings could start.
It was during that fortnight, while on bail, that he sought refuge.
A subsequent offer by Ecuador to allow Swedish investigators to interview Mr Assange inside the embassy was rejected.
The Wikileaks website Mr Assange founded published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments, particularly the US's, in 2010.
Earlier, the UK Foreign Office warned it could lift the embassy's diplomatic status to fulfil a "legal obligation" to extradite the 41-year-old by using the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987.
That allows the UK to revoke the diplomatic status of an embassy on UK soil, which would potentially allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange for breaching the terms of his bail.
Mr Assange says he fears that if extradited to Sweden, he will then be passed on to the American authorities.
In 2010, two female ex-Wikileaks volunteers accused Mr Assange, an Australian citizen, of committing sexual offences against them while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture.
Mr Assange claims the sex was consensual and the allegations are politically motivated.[/quote]
God damn you, I was just about to post this.
Good.
UK, USA, better don't try anything funny.
Isn't it virtually impossible for him to get there without being arrested though. I know the car acts as an extension of Ecuador, but surely at some point he will be in British territory, and he will be arrested immediately, won't he?
[QUOTE=Cabbalistic;37268257]Isn't it virtually impossible for him to get there without being arrested though. I know the car acts as an extension of Ecquador, but surely at some point he will be in British territory, and he will be arrested immediately, won't he?[/QUOTE]
There are apparently protections in international law that allow him safe passage. For what its worth China respects this, they let that someone have free passage from the US embassy to an airport to flee to the USA.
[QUOTE=Cabbalistic;37268257]Isn't it virtually impossible for him to get there without being arrested though. I know the car acts as an extension of Ecquador, but surely at some point he will be in British territory, and he will be arrested immediately, won't he?[/QUOTE]
I guess he could technically travel in a car all the way into the airplane itself, if it's large enough to handle it.
Alternatively be made a embassador, then he has immunity.
Airlift the entire embassy building to Ecuador
Oh, there's a law in the UK that can be used to lift diplomatic status on a building. If they think its no longer being used as an embassy.
You can thank Libya for that..
The BBC's legal expert seems to think if they did that it could put all of the British embassies around the world at risk.
[QUOTE=smurfy;37268290]Airlift the entire embassy building to Ecuador[/QUOTE]
Too risky, we bring all of Ecuador to the embassy by boat.
I don't understand why Sweden isn't able to interview him within the embassy like Ecuador offered?
[QUOTE=Jsm;37268300]Oh, there's a law in the UK that can be used to lift diplomatic status on a building. If they think its no longer being used as an embassy.
You can thank Libya for that..
The BBC's legal expert seems to think if they did that it could put all of the British embassies around the world at risk.[/QUOTE]
If they actually pulled this card just for Assange it could potentially damage the UK for decades.
[QUOTE=MuTAnT;37268320]I don't understand why Sweden isn't able to interview him within the embassy like Ecuador offered?[/QUOTE]
That baffles me as well, if that is all they [I]really[/I] wanted him for then it would be so much easier.
lets start world war 3 over a single man
Vaughan Smith is talking on the BBC right now, he makes a good point. This is making us (the UK) look terrible, we aren't a country that goes entering embassies.
He should probably just fake his death, flying an F-15 into a volcano and saving himself by having a magma proof submarine in it or something.
[QUOTE=Jsm;37268248]God damn you, I was just about to post this.[/QUOTE]
[url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1119442&p=31899504&viewfull=1#post31899504]I have a long memory.[/url]
It's a total stalemate though. He's stuck in the embassy. how the hell can he get to ecuador, if the moment he leaves is the moment he'll get arrested and sent to fucking sweden? They're gonna have to run some ninja shit to get him to ecuador.
They're gonna need to pull the SUV onto the steps in order to get him out.
Also, these events are scattered over three threads. I think this thread should be renamed to something more official and be regularly updated with news.
[QUOTE=killerteacup;37268453]Also, these events are scattered over three threads. I think this thread should be renamed to something more official and be regularly updated with news.[/QUOTE]
That sounds suspiciously like a megathread.
[QUOTE=Jsm;37268463]That sounds suspiciously like a megathread.[/QUOTE]
Nah, not a megathread, just saying that every single tidbit doesn't need separate coverage
[QUOTE=killerteacup;37268507]Nah, not a megathread, just saying that every single tidbit doesn't need separate coverage[/QUOTE]
Ah, fair enough. Although in this case I think the two threads are two separate news events (the threat to raid the embassy and him being granted asylum)
Something's happening with an embassy car in the livestream. Cripes.
People in the reuters stream are saying that he's left - a man and a woman left the embassy, man covering his face. And the body language of the police is visibly relaxed. Not much to go on though.
Irony of the situation is that Ecuador [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/19/ecuador-free-speech-julian-assange]has been criticised[/url] by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, Reporters sans frontières (reporters without borders) among others for suppressing free speech.
What about now?
[QUOTE=demoguy08;37268712]Irony of the situation is that Ecuador [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/19/ecuador-free-speech-julian-assange]has been criticised[/url] by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, Reporters sans frontières (reporters without borders) among others for suppressing free speech.[/QUOTE]
Actually there's been talk that the president is doing this as a response to just those criticisms.
Also nothing new. Reports of a white landrover out the side of the embassy ready to take him, but nothing's developed from that. There's considerable doubt as to whether he's even in the embassy, now.
I'm still wondering why he went to the embassy of Ecuador. Wouldn't there be other countries better suited for him? Thinking of Switzerland, Canada or New Zealand.
[editline]16th August 2012[/editline]
Seeing that Ecuador doesn't exactly have a good track record of being open and free of corruption.
[QUOTE=rosthouse;37269032]I'm still wondering why he went to the embassy of Ecuador. Wouldn't there be other countries better suited for him? Thinking of Switzerland, Canada or New Zealand.
[editline]16th August 2012[/editline]
Seeing that Ecuador doesn't exactly have a good track record of being open and free of corruption.[/QUOTE]
Canada would probably take him as they pretty much disagree with everything the US does when it comes to war and human rights.
[QUOTE=rosthouse;37269032]I'm still wondering why he went to the embassy of Ecuador. Wouldn't there be other countries better suited for him? Thinking of Switzerland, Canada or New Zealand.
[editline]16th August 2012[/editline]
Seeing that Ecuador doesn't exactly have a good track record of being open and free of corruption.[/QUOTE]
I suspect those countries would also have extradited him; And Ecuador were the first/only one to offer him asylum.
[QUOTE=rosthouse;37269032]I'm still wondering why he went to the embassy of Ecuador. Wouldn't there be other countries better suited for him? Thinking of Switzerland, Canada or New Zealand.
[editline]16th August 2012[/editline]
Seeing that Ecuador doesn't exactly have a good track record of being open and free of corruption.[/QUOTE]
Ecuador offered him asylum ages ago
[QUOTE=rosthouse;37269032]I'm still wondering why he went to the embassy of Ecuador. Wouldn't there be other countries better suited for him? Thinking of Switzerland, Canada or New Zealand.
[editline]16th August 2012[/editline]
Seeing that Ecuador doesn't exactly have a good track record of being open and free of corruption.[/QUOTE]
Canada? Seriously? Dude he'd be roasted in Canada
Anyway Ecuador's president offered him asylum if he needed it two years ago, of course he'd go to Ecuador instead of some random embassy with no knowledge of what awaits him.
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