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Ecuador's foreign minister has blamed Britain over the stalemate surrounding WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange following rekindled attempts to secure his safe exit from Quito's embassy in London.
"On the issue of mediation, I have to say very honestly that it has not been successful because two parties are needed to mediate, [sic]" Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the Ecuadorian foreign minister, told reporters Friday with respect to the Assange case, Agence France-Presse translated.
"Ecuador is willing but the other party is not," she added, referring to Britain, according to Reuters.
On the other hand, from the same source, and as we have already reported:
British authorities argue that Mr. Assange, an Australian, was under house arrest when he entered the embassy and should be apprehended for having breached his bail conditions if and when he exits.
Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/23/ecuador-blames-britain-over-julian-assange-impasse/
(Score: 1, Disagree) by cubancigar11 on Sunday February 25 2018, @09:15PM (14 children)
If for a moment we suspend belief that he will be illegally extradited to US, the punishment for jumping bail is definitely almost nothing once you are ready to pay huge sums of money and accept your mistake in court. He is at-max looking at 1 week incarceration in my understanding - nothing compared to his ongoing problem. I think he is more worried about his place to stay after he is freed. Where exactly will he go? Australia has already impounded his passport afaik, and Ecuador won't take him.
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Sunday February 25 2018, @09:24PM (1 child)
Actually, Ecuador granted him citizenship in January [reuters.com]. So they would take him (just not hanging around the embassy aka Assange crib anymore). All Assange would need to do is get a flight to Ecuador without the CIA
renditioningkidnapping him.[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Monday February 26 2018, @04:41AM
Hmm. I thought it was only because Ecuador wanted him out of the embassy and ran out of all other options. My reading of that is that there are more risks being outside of that building for Assange than not, right? Couldn't USA assassinate him in Ecuador? It is not really a legal paradise! Or Ecuador can just not contest his extradition request from USA in exchange of some favors?
I just don't think the risks are as simple as kidnapping Assange from UK when the whole world is looking at him and that place.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by zocalo on Sunday February 25 2018, @09:36PM (7 children)
Ecuador has granted him citzenship [theguardian.com] in an attempt to progress the situation. That's possibly as much to do with getting their lodger out of an embassy that isn't really equipped for a long term residency as much as anything else, but they're definitely willing to take him. As you say, the only thing he's really looking at is the penalty for jumping bail, and that even could potentially be mitigated with a deal in return for simply agreeing to turn himself in and accepting the pre-arranged punishment (a fine - probably quite significant if costs are involved - and a few weeks incarceration, or whatever), then off to Ecuador, or wherever else he might want to go that will let him in. The problem here isn't the UK; it's Julian Assange's unwillingness to accept responsibility for his decision to breach the conditions of his bail.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Sunday February 25 2018, @11:50PM (4 children)
No, the problem here is that the UK has consistently refused to rule out extraditing Assange to the US where he will rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life for the crime of embarrassing their government.
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Monday February 26 2018, @11:37AM
Is there any legal precedence of UK promising not to extradite someone? UK in general is very resilient in extradition, legally speaking, due to historical reasons (they wouldn't allow a UK citizen to be tried anywhere except UK, not even in British colonies).
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheRaven on Monday February 26 2018, @12:27PM (1 child)
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Monday February 26 2018, @11:05PM
When directly asked whether the UK have already received an extradition request, the government have consistently refused to confirm or deny. Given they won't tell us whether a request has already been received, my guess is "Yes".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @02:37PM
Assange wants to be treated like a princess when he comes out so he can lord it over "the system" that he defeated.
I think he needs a few more years in the embassy, at least long enough to see out Trump's term. A suitable exit would be him smiling like a madman, dressed in a straight-jacket covered in excrement and vomit.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Monday February 26 2018, @12:53AM
Bail for an illegal detention? Consider it void.
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Monday February 26 2018, @04:47AM
You may be right. Though I would like not to believe it. There ought to be something more that he is seeing. Or maybe he is paranoid. Being stuck inside a building for such long time can do that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 25 2018, @09:42PM
The Presidential Suite at Gitmo is currently available.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @12:16AM
Why shoud he just go to jail? He's not done anything except be illegally detained by the UK. That is on the UK not him.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/80912442/Agreed-Facts-Assange-Case [scribd.com]
Now he is an Ecuadorean citizen and would be able to go to Ecuador right way if the UK were not harassing him as they are. Lying about that won't help your grudge against him get resolved.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday February 26 2018, @05:30PM (1 child)
"If we set aside the entire reason he's in the embassy in the first place...he can just leave!"
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Monday February 26 2018, @06:14PM
Not fair! When he went in the embassy, he was being pursued for a very serious and a very fake (re-opened) crime committed into a foreign country which was demanding extradition. Currently he is wanted only for a very simple offense (bail jumping) that cannot be argued away, but can be potentially converted into a fine, in the country where he is currently residing, and as a citizen of foreign country, with no criminal trial pending in any foreign country.
He was legally in a very murky situation, he is currently in a very very clear position.
I don't know if there is a case pending against him in USA and if an extradition request is already pending against him in UK from USA, so I might be wrong.