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The Guardian: Russian Diplomats Planned to Sneak Julian Assange Out of the UK

posted by martyb on Sunday September 23 2018, @01:44AM   Printer-friendly
from the enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dept.

takyon writes:

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

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Whoever on Sunday September 23 2018, @04:07AM (2 children)

    by Whoever (4524) on Sunday September 23 2018, @04:07AM (#738762) Journal

    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.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by jdavidb on Sunday September 23 2018, @12:24PM (1 child)

    by jdavidb (5690) on Sunday September 23 2018, @12:24PM (#738820) Homepage Journal

    Imagine that Assange leaves the embassy. There is the issue of his skipping bail. Why should the UK ignore that?

    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

      by Whoever (4524) on Sunday September 23 2018, @03:42PM (#738867) Journal

      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.