Extradition guarantee sought by Assange
Print Edition
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not leave the Ecuador Embassy in London until it is guaranteed he will avoid extradition to the United States, his lawyer said yesterday.
The Australian, who has been holed up in the building for two years, indicated on Monday he would leave the compound “soon” amid reports that he was suffering from a heart condition and other ailments.
His lawyer Jennifer Robinson admitted to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that being cooped up had impacted the 43-year-old’s health, but said it was difficult to put a timeline on when he would leave.
“He will leave as soon as conditions can be negotiated that allow Julian to leave the embassy while his political asylum, to protect him from the risk of extradition to the US, is respected,” she said. “And we haven’t seen that happen yet.”
Assange sought asylum at the embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he strongly denies.
He fears extradition to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States to face trial over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified US military and diplomatic documents.
Robinson said there remained “a complicated number of legal cases that are ongoing both in Sweden, and the ongoing grand jury investigation in the US which is reason for his asylum.”
“We’d all like to see him out of there as soon as possible. He’s been in there more than two years and the circumstances and the conditions inside the embassy aren’t great,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to put a timeline to this,” she added.
Britain’s Foreign Office has indicated that its position on Assange’s case was unchanged and that it was “as committed as ever to reaching a diplomatic solution.”
The Ecuador Embassy offers Assange no outdoor space or direct sunlight.
It is reported that he is also suffering lung problems as well as heart issues.
Robinson did not detail Assange’s medical conditions but said he had been refused permission to travel to hospital.
“If he is required to leave the embassy for hospital treatment, he would be arrested,” she said.
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