Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:17 PM

Hague meets Ecuador's top diplomat in U.S. on Assange

Last edited Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:19 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Foreign Minister William Hague sought on Thursday to allay his Ecuadorean counterpart's concerns about the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying Britain's extradition law has "extensive human rights safeguards."

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June to avoid extradition to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations.

His lawyers and Ecuador's government fear that could lead to extradition to the United States, where he could face charges stemming from WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables that laid bare Washington's powerbroker manoeuvres across the globe.

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Ecuador wants Britain to give Assange written guarantees that he would not be extradited from Sweden to any third country. Ecuador and Assange's lawyers say that if he was extradited to the United States from Sweden he would face "inhumane" prison conditions and even the death penalty.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/27/uk-un-assembly-britain-assange-idUKBRE88Q19K20120927

Britain's extradition law has "extensive human rights safeguards." which they'd wash their hands of soon as he left the UK.

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10 replies	Author	Time	Post
Hague meets Ecuador's top diplomat in U.S. on Assange (Original post)	dipsydoodle	Sep 2012	OP
Some sort of guarantee might do the trick?	bemildred	Sep 2012	#1
The guarantee would not be good enough	RoccoR5955	Sep 2012	#3
That would be up to Ecuador and/or Assange to decide.	bemildred	Sep 2012	#4
Julian Assange: Amnesty calls for Swedish assurances	bemildred	Sep 2012	#9
And Britain is only concerned about justice for the alleged rape victim. Uh-huh.	wtmusic	Sep 2012	#2
THis was not "rape" and the press should stop calling it that.	McCamy Taylor	Sep 2012	#5
One of the allegations is of rape; that has been confirmed in British courts	muriel_volestrangler	Sep 2012	#8
I saw over at commondreams that Wikileaks has been put on the terrorist list...	truth2power	Sep 2012	#6
How is the UK supposed to give a guarantee about what Sweden will do?	cemaphonic	Sep 2012	#7
ask those who never cease to claim	reorg	Sep 2012	#10

Response to dipsydoodle (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:21 PM

bemildred (67,476 posts)

1. Some sort of guarantee might do the trick?

"If Mr. Assange gives himself up to fight the rape charge, WE GUARANTEE he will not be later extradited ANYWHERE because of Wikileaks related issues."

Something like that, then he'd have no excuse. But they won't do that, that would be negotiating.

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Response to bemildred (Reply #1)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:52 PM

RoccoR5955 (6,486 posts)

3. The guarantee would not be good enough

Because as soon as someone else is in power they would deem it unconstitutional, or something. Then they would take Assange and do what they did to Bradley Manning, to him. And because he's now been declared, "an enemy of the State," they can treat him like any other Guantanamo detainee. Heck they can even rendition him if they want to.

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Response to RoccoR5955 (Reply #3)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:54 PM

bemildred (67,476 posts)

4. That would be up to Ecuador and/or Assange to decide.

I'm only trying to help.

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Response to bemildred (Reply #1)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 04:09 PM

bemildred (67,476 posts)

9. Julian Assange: Amnesty calls for Swedish assurances

Something like this.

Amnesty International has urged Sweden to to "break the current impasse" in the Julian Assange extradition case by giving him assurances that he will not be handed over to the US.

The Wikileaks founder, who is living at Ecuador's London embassy, is fighting UK efforts to send him to Sweden.

He faces questioning over sex assault claims, which he denies.

Amnesty said fears he will face a US trial over Wikileaks "have played no small part in the current stand-off".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19749931

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Response to dipsydoodle (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 02:29 PM

wtmusic (37,717 posts)

2. And Britain is only concerned about justice for the alleged rape victim. Uh-huh.

The DOJ wants Assange, and bad.

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Response to dipsydoodle (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:01 PM

McCamy Taylor (13,710 posts)

5. THis was not "rape" and the press should stop calling it that.

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Response to McCamy Taylor (Reply #5)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:48 PM

muriel_volestrangler (65,247 posts)

8. One of the allegations is of rape; that has been confirmed in British courts

when they were judging the extradition request. The allegation is of rape under both British and Swedish law.

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Response to dipsydoodle (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:06 PM

truth2power (7,000 posts)

6. I saw over at commondreams that Wikileaks has been put on the terrorist list...

Isn't that just ducky!

Thank you, Pres. Obama!

Let me go over and get the link:

US Designates Wikileaks "Enemy of the State"

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/27

Excuse me while I go chew some nails!

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Response to dipsydoodle (Original post)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 03:37 PM

cemaphonic (2,302 posts)

7. How is the UK supposed to give a guarantee about what Sweden will do?

This case gets more ridiculous every day - I can see a dumb suggestion like that coming off the internet, but an actual diplomat?

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Response to cemaphonic (Reply #7)

Thu Sep 27, 2012, 08:08 PM

reorg (2,068 posts)

10. ask those who never cease to claim

that the UK has the last word over Assange's possible extradition from Sweden to the US and can therefore guarantee that everything will be okay, with judicial review and all that.

IOW, the British Foreign Secretary can determine that any allegations over Wikileaks are political in nature and that they will not agree to extradition for political offenses like "espionage" and so forth.

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