Ecuador grants Assange asylum

I liked this letter to the Guardian (which has 1684 "likes") - "

"Unbelievable. Even the worst dictatorships respect the inviolability of embassy ground. The People's Republic of China respects it for God's sake.

The fact that they're willing to consider this radical step, which would set a huge and ugly precedent in diplomatic affairs, is definitely grist on the mill of those who have claimed that everything up til now has been a ploy - a ploy to get Assange to the United States at any cost, to be tried on espionage charges and make an example of him.

If this is history in the making, then I am f**king well going down to the embassy to protest in person."

The Guardian is coming out, it seems, in favour of the empire

Assange wins asylum

Ecuador has sparked a major diplomatic standoff, granting political asylum to Julian Assange and in the process slamming the British government for threatening to shut down the London embassy where the WikiLeaks founder has been holed up for the past two months.

SMH,

16 August, 2012

The Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his country had no choice but to offer asylum to Assange due to doubts about the legal process that had led to the whistleblower facing extradition to Sweden over rape allegations.

He said Ecuador found that Assange faces a real threat of political persecution including the threat of extradition to the United States, where Mr Patino said the Australian would not get a fair trial and could face the death penalty.

''Ecuador is convinced that the procedural rights of Mr Assange have been violated,'' he said.

The announcement has left a diplomatic standoff at the west London embassy, which dozens of British police had earlier surrounded and isolated from protesters.

Police Chief Inspector Audrey Shannon told The Age that the police presence was only minimally above what it had been on previous days this week. It did appear, however, that there were many more senior police in the ranks.

Assange entered the embassy on June 19 after a British court ordered his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Assange says he fears deportation from Sweden to the United States, which may seek to convict him for his website's release of a trove of secret official documents.

Assange's supporters say the Swedish charges are trumped up and believe the US has secretly indicted him and would extradite him from Sweden.

Ecuador's ambassador to Australia, Raul Gangotena, told ABC TV's 7.30 last night that political asylum applications like Assange's could not be taken lightly or rushed.

Mr Gangotena said it was ''shocking'' that a country that it had been friends with had made such a threat to its territory.

He said it would be ''absolutely outrageous'' if the embassy was stormed, breaking all the conventions of international diplomacy.

''We are going back very much in history, even to the Stone Age, because this protection for political people under the situation of danger goes back to before nations were invented,'' he said.

He said Britain's argument that it was taking too long to assess Assange's claim was absurd.

''Imagine what would happen if any country comes and says 'you are taking to long for the application of the asylum seekers on Christmas Island, so

I am going to storm Christmas Island','' he said.

A government official in Ecuador's capital, Quito, said the British government had made it clear it would not allow Assange to leave the country to travel to Ecuador, so even with a grant of asylum or similar protection, he would probably remain stuck in the embassy.

Britain has told Ecuador that under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 it had the power to rescind the diplomatic status of the embassy, thereby allowing British police to enter and arrest Assange for breaching his bail. It was not clear if the act has been used before in this way.

Condemning the threat, a WikiLeaks statement said: ''Any transgression against the sanctity of the embassy is a unilateral and shameful act, and a violation of the Vienna Convention, which protects embassies worldwide.''

Professor Donald Rothwell, from Australian National University College of Law, said the British government's stance shows just how serious it is about extraditing the WikiLeaks founder to Sweden.

''If the United Kingdom revoked the embassy's diplomatic protection and entered the embassy to arrest Assange, Ecuador could rightly view this as a significant violation of international law which may find its way before an international court.''

In Australia, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the Commonwealth had little power to intervene.

This is the Guardian's summing-up:

• Ecuador has granted Julian Assange's request for political asylum. In a high-octane speech in Quito, the country's foreign minister said the South American nation believed the WikiLeaks founder's fears of persecution were legitimate.
• What happens next, however, is very unclear. Before the announcement in Quito, Britain had said the granting of asylum would make no difference to its position: it still considers itself obliged to arrest Assange and extradite him to face questioning in Sweden. It has said it will not grant him safe passage to Ecuador.
• The diplomatic row between Britain and Ecuador is growing more heated by the hour. Ecuador today accused the UK of making an "open threat" and pursuing a campaign of intimidation against its embassy in London. The FCO has responded by insisting on its right, should matters reach such a point, to enter the embassy. If it were to do that, it would need to give seven days' notice.

A Facebook page Occupy the British Consulate 24/7 Occupation is HERE

Confirmed: Ecuador grants Julian Assange asylum in dramatic standoff

RT,

16 August, 2012

Ecuador has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The decision comes almost two months after the world-famous whistleblower came to the country’s embassy in London seeking protection.

Follow developments as they unfold with RT’s live updates

“We have decided to grant political asylum to Mr. Assange,” said Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino. “We believe that his fears are legitimate and there are the threats that he could face political persecution.”

The announcement was met with celebrations outside the Ecuadorian embassy as the WikiLeaks founder's supporters began chanting "Hands off Ecuador" and "Assange freedom fighter."

Image from Twitter/@RTLondonBureau

Patino admitted that Julian Assange’s rights are endangered, as he is at high risk of extradition from Sweden to the US. Moreover, Assange’s home country will not provide him with adequate legal protection, he said.

“We think [Assange’s] extradition is viable to a country outside the EU,” Patino said at a press conference at the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry. “Judicial evidence clearly demonstrates that given an extradition to the US, Mr. Assange would not have a fair trial, he could be judged by special or military courts, and it is not unlikely to believe he would be treated in a cruel and degrading way, that he would receive a life sentence or death penalty, with which his human rights would not be respected.”

”Ecuador has confirmed Assange does not have enough protection from Australia where he holds citizenship,” Patino said. 

Patino also reiterated Ecuador's offer to allow Sweden to interview Assange in their embassy in London, which wasturned down. Stockholm would neither guarantee that the WikiLeaks founder would not be extradited again once he is on Swedish soil.

“We trust that that the UK will offer as soon as possible the guarantee for the safe passage of asylum for Mr Assange and they will respect those international agreements they have signed in the past,” he concluded.

Julian Assange has called Patino's statement a "significant victory," reports the BBC. His mother, Christine Assange, tells RT she has been hopeful all the time as Ecuador has a strong record of protecting political refugees.

UK still 'committed' to extraditing Assange

The UK Foreign Office says it is “disappointed” with Ecuador's decision, but says it does not affect Britain's legal obligation to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to Sweden. 

"We remain committed to a negotiated solution that allows us to carry out our obligations under the Extradition Act," read the FCO's Twitter following Patino's statement. "Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal UK authorities are under binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We shall carry out that obligation."

Earlier in the day, the British government has stated is has absolutely no intention of letting Assange reach the South American country. The UK said that it will do everything in its power to block Assange’s passage to Ecuador.

UK authorities sparked a scandal when they announced they were prepared to raid the Ecuadorian embassy in London in order to apprehend Assange, effectively revoking the embassy’s diplomatic immunity.

In the first part of his speech, Ricardo Patino extensively reprimanded the approach saying that such an act would be interpreted as “hostile and intolerable,” and an attack on Ecuador’s sovereignty that would provoke a dramatic diplomatic response.

""I will hit you hard, but if you behave I might not," the Ecuadorian foreign minister said reminding that UN and Vienna Conventions prohibit violating diplomatic space.

Meanwhile, Sweden has summoned Ecuador's ambassador slamming Assange asylum decision.

"We want to tell them that it's inacceptable that Ecuador is trying to stop the Swedish judicial process,'' Stockholm Foreign Ministry spokesman Anders Jorle said.

British threats

Ecuador claimed they received a “direct” written threat on Wednesday that authorities in London are prepared to storm the Ecuadorian embassy and arrest Assange if he is not delivered into their custody. The note was delivered to Ecuador's Foreign Ministry and ambassador in London, Patino said.

"You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr. Assange in the current premises of the Embassy,” the letter said."We sincerely hope that we do not reach that point, but if you are not capable of resolving this matter of Mr. Assange's presence in your premises, this is an open option for us."

“The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offenses, and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said, adding that the UK is seeking a “diplomatically agreeable solution” to the issue.

The decision to strip the Ecuadorian Embassy of its diplomatic protection has not yet been taken, the spokesperson said: “Under British law we can give them a week’s notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection. We are not going to do this overnight.”

The threat to storm the Ecuadorian Embassy was “extremely serious” and illegal, WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnnsson told AFP.

Protestors already arrested, tension swells

Police cordoned off the area around the Ecuadorian embassy in London in an attempt to disperse a gathered crowd of protesters.

A brawl broke out earlier between police and protesters as officers surrounded the demonstrators. Three arrests were made, RT’s London correspondent said.

Assange supporters took to Twitter and other social media to urge people to gather in front of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, to stop British authorities from raiding it.

A 20-strong group of demonstrators gathered outside the embassy on Wednesday, and organized a livestream from the scene. According to their reports, the livestreams from the embassy suffered from DDoS attacks.

London police later moved in on the embassy after a press conference led by Patino. The foreign minister confirmed on Twitter feed that the police presence around the embassy was growing.