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from the enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dept.
Revealed: Russia's secret plan to help Julian Assange escape from UK
Russian diplomats held secret talks in London last year with people close to Julian Assange to assess whether they could help him flee the UK, the Guardian has learned.
A tentative plan was devised that would have seen the WikiLeaks founder smuggled out of Ecuador's London embassy in a diplomatic vehicle and transported to another country.
One ultimate destination, multiple sources have said, was Russia, where Assange would not be at risk of extradition to the US. The plan was abandoned after it was deemed too risky.
The operation to extract Assange was provisionally scheduled for Christmas Eve in 2017, one source claimed, and was linked to an unsuccessful attempt by Ecuador to give Assange formal diplomatic status.
Related: Ecuador Grants Citizenship to Julian Assange
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities
Associated Press Publishes Supposedly Leaked WikiLeaks Documents
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @01:53AM (14 children)
He has been illegally detained for eight years without charge [theguardian.com]. The solution is simple but the politics are hard: the impasse over Julian Assange could be resolved immediately if the UK Government gave an assurance that he would not be extradited to the US if he leaves the embassy [irishexaminer.com]. It has always been a question of extradition.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @02:02AM (3 children)
Trump will pardon him if he can be assured safe passage to the US. That's the problem, let's not pretend it isn't.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Arik on Sunday September 23 2018, @02:19AM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @12:08PM
He sure will, pardon him right into prison.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 23 2018, @10:44PM
Where's the -1 Idiot Mod?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Whoever on Sunday September 23 2018, @04:07AM (2 children)
Wishful thinking.
Imagine that Assange leaves the embassy. There is the issue of his skipping bail. Why should the UK ignore that?
Then, if Assange is in British custody, or even in Britain, what if the USA requests extradition? What law gives the British Government the right to ignore its treaty obligations? Ignoring treaty obligations is something the USA does, the UK, not so much.
Perhaps it would be payback for the IRA terrorists that the USA would not extradite during the Troubles.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by jdavidb on Sunday September 23 2018, @12:24PM (1 child)
Because obviously the charges against him are an attempt to railroad him and get him into the US to stand trial for the non-crime of exposing the evil US government's secrets?
Is that not reason enough for you?
ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
(Score: 3, Informative) by Whoever on Sunday September 23 2018, @03:42PM
What charges? You mean the charge of skipping on his bail?
There is no charge against him in the USA today. The UK government can't give an assurance based on speculation.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:08AM (6 children)
He ran from the charges in Sweden and has hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy like a punk. All the while shouting "I'm innocent!" but acting like he's guilty. He even skipped bail in the UK. All of these actions were his own decisions.
I'm aware the the charges in Sweden were eventually dropped, but he ran from them. The two women refusing to press charges or cooperate could be because someone convinced them to leave Assange alone. There is no proof of that, but many things surrounding Assange's actions and claims are speculation or conspiratorial based, so it's as "true" as anything else involving Assange.
I realize he doesn't want to face charges in the US, but he did break US laws whether he (or anybody else) wants to admit it or not. He wants to claim he's a hero but he hides like a coward and he's afraid to take responsibility for his actions. He is self centered and self serving, and wants to promote the Assange brand more than anything else.
He's not being held against his will, he's simply afraid of the consequences of his actions so he's hiding like a scared mouse.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:58AM (3 children)
What laws did he break?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @10:34AM
None, but once in the US he will be either charged with as many offenses as necessary to achieve a death penalty and allowed to plea bargain (thus admitting his guilt), to show leniency, or he will go to gitmo and that will be the end of it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @04:38PM (1 child)
Charges for receiving and releasing classified US documents, DNC emails, etc. Those may be "after the fact" accessory charges, but they are violations of US laws nonetheless. I'd bet good money on a sealed indictment just waiting for Assange to end up in a extradition-friendly situation. Any statute of limitations were probably reset when the DNC emails were released (the US government views this as an ongoing criminal enterprise/conspiracy).
Whether he could be convicted is another matter, but the US is ready when Assange becomes nabbable. Plus, if the US can't convict him I'm sure there are other US allies who may want a shot at him for releasing their classified documents.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday September 24 2018, @01:27PM
The earlier poster played this straw man game where they insinuated that breaking the law was an indication of poor character without considering whether the laws in question, assuming they actually exist, are in good faith. I'm still not convinced that actions of Assange and Wikileaks are criminal, particularly since the US hasn't publicly stated such (particularly, hasn't submitted said extradition request publicly by now).
If he's never brought to trial, then it doesn't matter.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday September 23 2018, @02:24PM (1 child)
You've probably broken Saudi Arabian laws. EXTRADITE!!!
(moron)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @04:45PM
I've always wanted to visit that part of the world. I'll post my vacation pics on Instagram. Just look for #NotAsDumbAsILook.