Ecuador gives asylum to WikiLeaks' chief
Source: Agencies |
August 17, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ECUADOR has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said yesterday, a day after the British government threatened to storm the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to arrest the former hacker.
Britain has said it is determined to extradite him to Sweden, where he is accused of rape and sexual assault, but Assange fears he will ultimately be sent to the United States, which is furious that his WikiLeaks website leaked hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic and military cables.
Ecuador's decision is likely to deepen a political dispute over Assange's extradition with Britain, which said it was "disappointed" with the ruling, and sets the stage for possible further confrontation between the two countries.
Patino said Ecuador feared for the safety of the Australian, who had lodged an asylum request with President Rafael Correa, a self-declared enemy of "corrupt" media and US imperialism.
"Ecuador has decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange following the request sent to the president," Patino said.
Patino said Assange's extradition to a third country without proper guarantees was probable, and that legal evidence showed he would not get a fair trial if eventually transferred to the US.
"This is a sovereign decision protected by international law. It makes no sense to surmise that this implies a breaking of relations (with Britain)," Patino added.
Assange has been holed up inside Ecuador's embassy in central London for eight weeks since he lost a legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden.
Even after yesterday's decision, Assange's fate is still far from clear: Britain has promised to extradite him and removing the Ecuadorean Embassy's diplomatic status would expose him to immediate arrest by the British authorities.
"We are disappointed," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "Under UK law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We shall carry out that obligation."
Outside the Ecuadorean Embassy near London's famed Harrods department store, supporters relayed the announcement about his asylum request over a loudspeaker to cheers and clapping from protesters who had gathered outside the building.
Supporters shouted: "The people united will never be defeated!" waving Ecuadorian flags and holding posters showing Assange's head, reading "no extradition."
It was unclear how long Assange could stay in the small embassy which is under 24-hour surveillance by British police.
After the announcement, the BBC reported that Assange thanked the staff in the London embassy for their support and said to them: "Things will get more stressful now."
Britain has said it could use a little-known piece of legislation from 1987, introduced in the wake of the shooting of a British police officer outside the Libyan Embassy in London, to strip Ecuador's embassy of its diplomatic status. The Ecuadorean government compared the action to Iran's storming of Britain's Tehran embassy in 2011.
Britain has said it is determined to extradite him to Sweden, where he is accused of rape and sexual assault, but Assange fears he will ultimately be sent to the United States, which is furious that his WikiLeaks website leaked hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic and military cables.
Ecuador's decision is likely to deepen a political dispute over Assange's extradition with Britain, which said it was "disappointed" with the ruling, and sets the stage for possible further confrontation between the two countries.
Patino said Ecuador feared for the safety of the Australian, who had lodged an asylum request with President Rafael Correa, a self-declared enemy of "corrupt" media and US imperialism.
"Ecuador has decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange following the request sent to the president," Patino said.
Patino said Assange's extradition to a third country without proper guarantees was probable, and that legal evidence showed he would not get a fair trial if eventually transferred to the US.
"This is a sovereign decision protected by international law. It makes no sense to surmise that this implies a breaking of relations (with Britain)," Patino added.
Assange has been holed up inside Ecuador's embassy in central London for eight weeks since he lost a legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden.
Even after yesterday's decision, Assange's fate is still far from clear: Britain has promised to extradite him and removing the Ecuadorean Embassy's diplomatic status would expose him to immediate arrest by the British authorities.
"We are disappointed," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "Under UK law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authorities are under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We shall carry out that obligation."
Outside the Ecuadorean Embassy near London's famed Harrods department store, supporters relayed the announcement about his asylum request over a loudspeaker to cheers and clapping from protesters who had gathered outside the building.
Supporters shouted: "The people united will never be defeated!" waving Ecuadorian flags and holding posters showing Assange's head, reading "no extradition."
It was unclear how long Assange could stay in the small embassy which is under 24-hour surveillance by British police.
After the announcement, the BBC reported that Assange thanked the staff in the London embassy for their support and said to them: "Things will get more stressful now."
Britain has said it could use a little-known piece of legislation from 1987, introduced in the wake of the shooting of a British police officer outside the Libyan Embassy in London, to strip Ecuador's embassy of its diplomatic status. The Ecuadorean government compared the action to Iran's storming of Britain's Tehran embassy in 2011.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
