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MEA CULPA
I was spectacularly wrong and naive to even consider this might be true.
However, in a world with hope one does hold on to small hopes (and this was top in my prayers - that Julian Assange be released from the Ecuadoran embassy. My only justification was that some people hold onto unreasonable hope in the face of incredible odds (and evidence) on the big things.
Dr. Corsi should eat humble pie and offer up an apology, but that might be too much much to expect.
I find today's news dispiriting and truly depressing. I would love to hold onto the hope that a new hearing on Feb 13 might offer a different result but am less than confident after today.
Arrest
warrant upheld in Julian Assange case, new hearing on February 13
RT,
6
February, 2018
A
British judge will rule on February 13 whether WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange can have his arrest warrant, for breaching bail
conditions, lifted on “public interest grounds.”
Judge
Emma Arbuthnot had earlier rejected a bid by Assange, who is holed up
inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, to have an arrest warrant
against him dropped on different grounds.
Speaking
outside court, Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said all of us
should be resisting the threat to free speech posed by the
persecution of Assange.
“We
hope this situation will come to an end very soon and we look forward
to the decision next week,” Robinson said. “[The outcome on
Tuesday] is not disappointing, we finally had the court understand
the public interest of this case.”
Court has adjourned in my arrest warrant case. Judgment next Tuesday, 13 February 2018.twitter.com/JulianAssange/…
According
to Assange, only the first technical point of his legal challenge has
failed. Judges will hear and decide on the other points on Tuesday
afternoon, and if Assange wins any of them, the warrant falls.
Wall to wall fake news stating stating the government won today's hearing. Nothing of the sort has happened. The hearing is still happening. Only one point has been ruled on. twitter.com/JulianAssange/…
The Judicial Office tweeted the judgment on Tuesday afternoon. Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot said in her ruling: “Having considered the arguments … I am not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn.”
Assange,
46, absconded in 2012 to enter the Ecuadorian embassy, to avoid
extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape.
However, Swedish prosecutors have since dropped those charges.
Still,
Assange has been unable to leave the embassy in London, as he faced
arrest for breaching his bail conditions in the UK.
Assange's
lawyer, Mark Summers, argued that the arrest warrant should be
dropped because it had “lost its purpose and its function,”
citing the dropped charges against Assange in Sweden.
“[Assange]
has spent five-and-a-half years in conditions which, on any view, are
akin to imprisonment, without access to adequate medical care or
sunlight, in circumstances where his physical and psychological
health have deteriorated and are in serious peril,” Summers wrote
in court papers, as quoted by the Guardian.
Claiming
freedom would be a huge risk for Julian Assange with US lurking
However,
Aaron Watkins, who represents the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS),
called Summers’ argument “strange and untenable,” adding that
it was an attempt at “contorting legislation” to allow Assange to
leave the embassy.
“Assange
had been released on bail in proceedings; he was under a duty to
surrender to the custody of the court and he failed to surrender at
the appointed time for him to do so. Therefore the warrant stands,”
Watkins said, calling Assange’s situation “extremely simple.”
Assange
was made an Ecuadorian citizen in December. However, the UK refused
to recognize him as having diplomatic status, which would have given
him legal immunity and allowed him to leave the embassy.
Even
if Assange's arrest warrant has been dropped, he could have still
been extradited to the US to face trial over WikiLeaks' publication
of classified US military and diplomatic documents in 2010 – which
amounted to one of the largest information leaks in United States
history.
Julian
Assange claims package containing 'threat' and 'white powdery
substance' sent to him at Ecuadorian embassy
- Julian Assange claims package containing 'threat' and 'white powdery substance' sent to him at Ecuadorian embassy
- Comes on the day a court ruled an arrest warrant against the Wikileaks founder is still valid
6
February, 2018
Julian
Assange has claimed a package containing a "threat" and
white substance was sent to him at the Ecuadorian embassy.
The
item, which has been deemed "non-suspicious" by police, was
addressed to Mr Assange, he said in a tweet.
It
comes on the day a court ruled an arrest warrant against the
WikiLeaks founder is still valid despite Swedish authorities ending
an investigation against him.
The
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said the incident was "stood
down" after the package was assessed.
Mr
Assange wrote: "I can confirm that a package containing an
unknown white powdery substance and a threat was addressed to my
name.
"It
was handed to UK diplomatic police. I understand they are performing
toxicology and forensics."
MPS
Kensington and Chelsea tweeted: "Police attended the Ecuadorian
Embassy in SW1 following reports of a small suspicious package.
"The
item was assessed by specialist officers and deemed to be
non-suspicious.
"There
are no injuries and this incident has now been stood down."
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