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

[dipsydoodle]

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.

>

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

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

[bemildred]

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.

[RoccoR5955]

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.

[bemildred]

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

I'm only trying to help.

[bemildred]

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

[wtmusic]

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

The DOJ wants Assange, and bad.

[McCamy Taylor]

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

[muriel_volestrangler]

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.

[truth2power]

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!

[cemaphonic]

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?

[reorg]

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.