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posted by martyb on Friday October 26 2018, @09:31PM   Printer-friendly
from the Come-out-come-out-wherever-you-are dept.

The United Kingdom told Ecuador in August that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would not be extradited if he left the country's London embassy, where he has lived under asylum since 2012, Ecuador's top government attorney said on Thursday.

[...] Salvador said Ecuador passed on the UK's response to Assange's lawyers, but noted that if Assange stayed in the embassy Ecuador would put new conditions on his stay. "Mr. Assange had a choice between turning himself in to British authorities with those assurances, or staying in the embassy of Ecuador, but given that the asylum had lasted six years with no signs of immediate resolution we were going to place certain rules." Salvador said at a news conference.

[...] The relationship between Assange and Ecuador has grown increasingly tense in the past year. Assange filed a lawsuit in an Ecuadorean court last week claiming the new asylum terms, which require him to pay for medical bills and telephone calls and to clean up after his pet cat, violate his rights.

Previously:
Julian Assange Sues Ecuador for "Violating His Fundamental Rights".


Original Submission

Related Stories

Inadvertent Court Filing Suggests that the U.S. DoJ is Preparing to Indict Julian Assange 94 comments

Inadvertent Court Filing Suggests that the U.S. DoJ is Preparing to Indict Julian Assange

Prosecutors Have Prepared Indictment of Julian Assange, a Filing Reveals

The Justice Department has prepared an indictment against the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, marking a drastic escalation of the government's yearslong battle with him and his anti-secrecy group. It was not clear if prosecutors have filed charges against Mr. Assange. The indictment came to light late Thursday through an unrelated court filing in which prosecutors inadvertently mentioned charges against him. "The court filing was made in error," said Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for the United States attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia. "That was not the intended name for this filing."

[...] Seamus Hughes, a terrorism expert at George Washington University who closely tracks court cases, uncovered the filing and posted it on Twitter.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to say on Thursday what led to the inadvertent disclosure. It was made in a recently unsealed filing in an apparently unrelated sex-crimes case charging a man named Seitu Sulayman Kokayi with coercing and enticing an underage person to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Mr. Kokayi was charged in early August, and on Aug. 22, prosecutors filed a three-page document laying out boilerplate arguments for why his case at that time needed to remain sealed.

While the filing started out referencing Mr. Kokayi, federal prosecutors abruptly switched on its second page to discussing the fact that someone named "Assange" had been secretly indicted, and went on to make clear that this person was the subject of significant publicity, lived abroad and would need to be extradited — suggesting that prosecutors had inadvertently pasted text from a similar court filing into the wrong document and then filed it.

"Another procedure short of sealing will not adequately protect the needs of law enforcement at this time because, due to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case, no other procedure is likely to keep confidential the fact that Assange has been charged," prosecutors wrote. They added, "The complaint, supporting affidavit, and arrest warrant, as well as this motion and the proposed order, would need to remain sealed until Assange is arrested in connection with the charges in the criminal complaint and can therefore no longer evade or avoid arrest and extradition in this matter."

Breaking News: Wikileaks Co-Founder Julian Assange Arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London 243 comments

Breaking: Met police confirm that Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy.

Mr Assange took refuge in the embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.

The Met Police said he was arrested for failing to surrender to the court.

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said it withdrew Mr Assange's asylum after his repeated violations to international conventions.

But WikiLeaks tweeted that Ecuador had acted illegally in terminating Mr Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law".

[...] Scotland Yard said it was invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum.

After his arrest for failing to surrender to the court, police said he had been further arrested on behalf of US authorities under an extradition warrant.

He doesn't look happy, to say the least.

Update: As this is a breaking story, more information is coming out regularly - one source that updates their reports frequently is Zero Hedge - thanks boru!

Previously: New Analysis of Swedish Police Report Confirms Julian Assange's Version in Sweden's Case
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities
UK Said Assange Would Not be Extradited If He Leaves Embassy Refuge
Inadvertent Court Filing Suggests that the U.S. DoJ is Preparing to Indict Julian Assange
U.S. Ramping Up Probe Against Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Says
Ecuador Denies That Julian Assange Will be Evicted From Embassy in London


Original Submission

Julian Assange Sues Ecuador for "Violating His Fundamental Rights" 34 comments

Julian Assange Says He's Suing Ecuador for 'Violating His Fundamental Rights'

Julian Assange announced on Friday that he was suing the Ecuadorean government for "violating his fundamental rights," claiming that his longtime hosts at the country's embassy in London are limiting his contact with the outside world and censoring his speech.

His legal team in the matter, led by the former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, revealed the suit at a news conference in Quito, where the lawsuit was filed. The action aims to prevent strict new rules governing Mr. Assange's visitors and online activity from taking effect.

The policies were laid out in a nine-page memo that was published by a news site this month. (They include directives to clean his bathroom and look after his cat.)

Clean up your room and brush your teeth before you go to bed.

Also at Reuters, CNN, and USA Today.

Previously: Julian Assange has His Internet Access Cut Off by Ecuador
Ecuador Spent $5 Million Protecting and Spying on Julian Assange
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities
Associated Press Publishes Supposedly Leaked WikiLeaks Documents
The Guardian: Russian Diplomats Planned to Sneak Julian Assange Out of the UK


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 2) by Snow on Friday October 26 2018, @09:34PM (9 children)

    by Snow (1601) on Friday October 26 2018, @09:34PM (#754244) Journal

    Is he just going to stay there forever? Is he paying any rent? If not, can I just move into some embassy? It's probably nicer than my house.

    • (Score: 2) by beckett on Friday October 26 2018, @09:53PM (8 children)

      by beckett (1115) on Friday October 26 2018, @09:53PM (#754254)
      You can also look at it as ~6 years of house arrest for a gadfly. at least he had a cat to keep him company.

      imo this is mostly about Assange trying to stay relevant, but
      • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Sulla on Friday October 26 2018, @10:10PM (7 children)

        by Sulla (5173) on Friday October 26 2018, @10:10PM (#754263) Journal

        Is the cat bit some fake news to make Assange seem less credible? If he isn't cleaning up after his cat he sounds like a world class ass.

        hrr im mad that you are allowing me to stay here for free so I don't get jailed/killed and you won't provide me someone to pick up after my cat.

        --
        Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:41PM (5 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:41PM (#754284)

          I vote fake smear to make him look even worse.

          • (Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:05AM (4 children)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:05AM (#754346) Journal

            Possibly a smear campaign against Assange. I'm weighing things in my head. Let's add in that Assange's odd incarceration has probably done things to his head. I think he started out something of an egocentric ass, and he has probably suffered psychologically. Today, he may well be a royal pain in the ass to deal with. A cat? That's usually a chick thing. Yeah, guys, even macho guys, are allowed to like cats, but few of us are willing to invest the kind of care that a cat requires when penned up indoors. We generally prefer dogs.

            I'm on Assange's side, but that doesn't change the fact that he is an egotistical ass. I like him in England, I might not like him living in my home, or even next door.

            --
            “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
            • (Score: 1) by ChrisMaple on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:49PM

              by ChrisMaple (6964) on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:49PM (#754464)

              It brings to mind images of Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @06:24PM (2 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @06:24PM (#754496)

              A cat? That's usually a chick thing.

              A dog needs to go out to walk, and Assange can't do that. Cats don't have that problem and are more interesting than fish.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @09:04PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @09:04PM (#754529)

                Duh dont you get it? Dogs are manly and cats are for pussies.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 28 2018, @02:27AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 28 2018, @02:27AM (#754577)

                  Assange is too much of a pussy to go outside, so a cat sounds perfect for him.

        • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:38PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:38PM (#754297)

          If he isn't cleaning up after his cat he sounds like a world class ass.

          To be fair, it's the only pussy he gets these days and the guy has a reputation for being somewhat sloppy in these regards. [observer.com]

  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday October 26 2018, @10:09PM (2 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Friday October 26 2018, @10:09PM (#754261) Journal

    It was unclear if the UK’s assurances were still valid. Assange’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office referred to Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan’s June statement that Assange would be treated “humanely and properly” if he left the embassy.

    "Properly" could still include extradition.

    TFA also says he'd still be up for six months in prison for violating his bail conditions.. were those charges later withdrawn?

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday October 26 2018, @10:31PM

      by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Friday October 26 2018, @10:31PM (#754278) Homepage Journal

      At least not in the states I know about.

      However, Sweden is a completely different country with a completely different legal tradition.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by RandomFactor on Saturday October 27 2018, @11:10PM

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 27 2018, @11:10PM (#754554) Journal

      My first thought was "six months of prison" just do it and get it the heck over with.
      .
      My second thought was "six months of prison" during which they can reevaluate that decision not to extradite...

      --
      В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:14PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:14PM (#754269)

    Excellent rhetorical construction:

    which require him... to clean up after his pet cat, violate his rights.

    In the face of mounting threats, the working class must defend Julian Assange [wsws.org]:

    The US and British media have picked up on this theme, portraying the restrictions imposed by the Ecuadorian government as trivial matters such as laundry and cleaning up after a pet cat. In reality, Assange had been subjected for more than five months, beginning on March 28, to conditions more onerous than those imposed on prisoners condemned to solitary confinement in maximum security lockups.

    In an attempt to silence the WikiLeaks editor and prevent him from making any comment on world political developments, Ecuadorian authorities cut off all of his communications and visits, outside of his lawyers, preventing him from communicating even with his own children and parents.

    This total isolation came on top of confinement inside the small embassy, without access to direct sunlight, for over six years. The clear intention is to break Assange and force him out.

    ...The government of Lenín Moreno, which, in sync with other Latin American regimes identified with the so-called “Pink Tide” and “Bolivarian Revolution,” has turned sharply to the right. Its principal concern appears to be cementing a rapprochement with US imperialism, which is demanding Assange’s head as the price of admission.

    This was spelled out bluntly a week ago in a bipartisan letter to Moreno drafted by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior Republican on the House Foreign Relations Committee and its former chairperson, and Eliot Engel, the panel’s ranking Democrat. The two affirmed that Congress was “eager to move forward in collaborating with your government,” but that the precondition was resolving “the status of Julian Assange.”

    Assange, the letter continued, is “a dangerous criminal and a threat to global security, and he should be brought to justice.” It concluded that “it will be very difficult for the United States to advance our bilateral relationship until Mr. Assange is handed over to the proper authorities.”

    Yankee imperialism has delivered its marching orders, and by every indication Lenín Moreno is falling into line.

    Hmm. I'm certain that the UK would never lie or mislead.... I guess the USA will just have to let him get away....

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:15PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:15PM (#754292)

      Citing a "source" that amounts to one persons blog doesn't hold much water. That post doesn't contain a single reference, not one.

      • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:34PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:34PM (#754295)

        Where may I find the sources cited for the Reuters article?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:26PM (#754274)

    We were just joking.. off to jail you go.

  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday October 26 2018, @10:28PM (3 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Friday October 26 2018, @10:28PM (#754277) Homepage Journal

    "It would be helpful to _all_ concerned."

    Cats are very tidy creatures. That's why they often know how to use litter boxes from the very start, as young kittens - two of my kittens did, but not all of them.

    Really, if he doesn't tend to his cat, some animal rights group should be suing Assange.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:35PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:35PM (#754280)

      some animal rights group should be suing Assange
      Yep I am 100% sure that cat is totally abused. I can totally read the dudes mind about what he is doing! Get a grip dude.

    • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday October 26 2018, @10:49PM (1 child)

      by NewNic (6420) on Friday October 26 2018, @10:49PM (#754286) Journal

      It has nothing to do with being "tidy" and everything to do with the texture of the material in the litter box.

      --
      lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
      • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Friday October 26 2018, @11:17PM

        by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday October 26 2018, @11:17PM (#754293) Journal

        I think it's more about the smell:

        https://www.livescience.com/33147-why-do-cats-bury-their-poop.html [livescience.com]

        The act of meticulously burying their waste stems from cats' long history of using urine and feces to mark their territory. Cat poop may all smell the same to us, but cats can tell their waste apart from another's thanks to unique chemical scent markers called pheromones, which are present in their urine and feces.

        In the wild, dominant cats including those of the Panthera genus, such as lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars that are competing for territory often do not bury their excrement as a way of signaling that they want to claim a particular area. Smaller, weaker or more submissive wild cats bury their feces as a way of ensuring that dominant cats do not feel challenged.

        Wild cats will also hide their waste to avoid attracting unwanted attention from predators to themselves or their nest of kittens. Domesticated indoor cats (Felis catus) harbor the same strong, self-protecting instincts. Even though there are no predators in your home, your cat may not be so sure, and will bury its waste just in case.

        Your cat's careful burying habits are also Fluffy's way of saying that she recognizes you as the dominant "cat" of the house.

        "In an undisturbed home, all domestic cats see themselves as subordinates of their human owners, so under normal circumstances, all domestic cats use litter trays or bury their feces in the garden," zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris writes in his book, "Catlore."

        If you fail to clean the litter box regularly, there will be a strong odor. That will agitate or confuse the cat and they may end up pooping somewhere you don't want them to.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:32PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @10:32PM (#754279)

    Why do the Ecuadorians continue to besmirtch this poor cat's reputation? PETA should launch an investigation to determine whether it is actually Assange who is peeing on the oriental rugs.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday October 26 2018, @10:39PM (7 children)

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Friday October 26 2018, @10:39PM (#754281) Journal

    Now, has the United States gone on record that under no circumstances would they try an extraordinary rendition on Mr. Assange? As much as I love my country, we opened the door on such a question having to be asked.

    (Which has nothing to do with the lawsuit, which I don't have tremendous opinion about other than it makes me wonder if Ecuador really knew what it was biting off because England doesn't recognize diplomatic asylum.) If England isn't worried about extradition to either Sweden or the U.S. (if Sweden dropped the charges how could they extradite?) the easiest way out for them would be for the Queen to guarantee Assange royal pardon in exchange for his coming out. He pleads guilty to jumping bail, he's pardoned, everybody moves on.

    --
    This sig for rent.
    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday October 27 2018, @01:38AM

      by Gaaark (41) on Saturday October 27 2018, @01:38AM (#754327) Journal

      Wondering if there is a 7 year statute of limitations on this: he's been in sanctuary for 6 years. Are they trying to force him out before the limitation is up?

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by canopic jug on Saturday October 27 2018, @06:36AM (5 children)

      by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 27 2018, @06:36AM (#754384) Journal

      There were never any charges from Sweden against Assange. He was wanted for questiong about a case that a new, second investigator decided to re-open. It is popular for social media to spread the lie that there were charges, however. So it is a common misunderstanding about the case because that lie really gained traction on social media to the point where the mainstream media often failed to look into the facts and just parroted what they "found" in their social media feeds.

      --
      Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
      • (Score: 2) by splodus on Saturday October 27 2018, @08:43PM (3 children)

        by splodus (4877) on Saturday October 27 2018, @08:43PM (#754515)

        Do you have a link to something that backs this up?

        I have a vague memory too that he was quite willing to be 'questioned' in the embassy, but the Swedish prosecuters refused. Subsequently it turned out that dozens of others had, in fact, been questioned by Swedish officials on UK soil?

        It has always seemed to me that, regardless of Asange's 'innocence' - he's had every reason to suspect that he would not be treated fairly if he 'gave himself up'...

        • (Score: 5, Informative) by canopic jug on Sunday October 28 2018, @04:28AM (2 children)

          by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Sunday October 28 2018, @04:28AM (#754593) Journal

          Yes, but if you spend your time digging through the 2010 articles, before prosecutor Marianne Ny took over and re-opened the case, you are more likely to find accurate material. It may take some effort on your part because the web indexes are quite poor in their ability to sort old articles to the top of any search you might try.

          However, teleSUR has a decent summary from John Pilger [telesurtv.net] last year. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also issued a report two years ago [un.org] covering the facts. Again, there are flat out lies spread on social media and for various reasons mainstream media picks them up and parrots them uncritically. That's part of a feedback loop. The media publish insinuations, the social media interpret the insinuations as fact, then the same media can cherry pick pre-packaged lies from social media. Repeat ad nauseum.

          --
          Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
          • (Score: 2) by splodus on Sunday October 28 2018, @10:54AM (1 child)

            by splodus (4877) on Sunday October 28 2018, @10:54AM (#754642)

            That's really helpful, thank you!

            • (Score: 2) by canopic jug on Sunday October 28 2018, @11:29AM

              by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Sunday October 28 2018, @11:29AM (#754645) Journal

              Another factor may be the grudges carried by several groups over the fact that Wikileaks played a very critical role in saving, or at least prolonging, Edward Snowden's life. Julian Assange was in charge when Sarah Harrison [vogue.com] helped Snowden hide in and then escape from Sheremetyevo Airport. Without Wikileaks, notably Sarah and Julian among others, he would have been done for then and there.

              --
              Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
      • (Score: 2) by dry on Sunday October 28 2018, @06:49AM

        by dry (223) on Sunday October 28 2018, @06:49AM (#754606) Journal

        My understanding is that under the Swedish judicial system, charges can't be laid until after questioning. So the questioning was the first step to laying charges.
        Doesn't change the fact that reopening the investigation seemed political and it was weird that they wouldn't question him in the embassy or the UK.

  • (Score: 2) by Entropy on Friday October 26 2018, @10:40PM

    by Entropy (4228) on Friday October 26 2018, @10:40PM (#754282)

    Right?

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @11:35PM (#754296)

    If you leave the embassy, #CrookedHillary will be able to call in a drone strike.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:49AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 27 2018, @03:49AM (#754358)

    Dave said that Ecuador heard that Russia said that Chinese heard the Saudis said that French told that Japanese seem to imply that India assured that Trump said that the fake news CNN said that NY Times wrote that North Korea said that Canada, or was it South Africa, anyway, either of them said that

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