Do you think that anything as unimportant as Assange's health, his life or death will sway these people? The UK have a duty to deliver him to Sweden (and the USA)
Ecuador
'gravely concerned' about Assange’s health
A
senior Ecuadorian diplomat says the health of WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange is deteriorating, and wants the UK to give him safe
passage out of the country's London embassy, where he is holed up, if
it declines further.
RT,
23
October, 2012
“We
have officially asked the UK for safe passage,” Vice Foreign
Minister Marco Albuja Martinez told RT in an exclusive interview.
“But we are concerned that while UK authorities mull over the
decision, Julian Assange’s health may break down completely.”
The
Australian whistleblower has been housebound in a small ambassadorial
flat in Central London after fleeing while on bail in the UK in June.
The moment he leaves the embassy's territory, Assange faces
extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over
accusations of rape and molestation. He is also reportedly wanted by
American authorities for helping leak confidential diplomatic cables,
and says Sweden could extradite him to America.
Martinez
did not specify the medical issues plaguing Assange, but noted that
he had lost weight. He said that denying him the proper facilities
for treatment would be “an issue of human rights.”
Assange
himself complained of a “racking cough,” and said that being
under prolonged house arrest has left him demoralized as his health
“slowly deteriorated.” Recent photos show that the 41-year-old
has become increasingly pale and gaunt, though Assange also says that
he exercises daily with a personal trainer, an ex-Special Forces
soldier and fellow whistleblower.
The
UK Foreign Office says it will consider Ecuador’s request if the
need for medical care arises.
"Ecuador
have not told us that Mr Assange is ill. However, were they to do so,
we would consider the matter," it said in a statement.
Assange
rose to fame as the administrator of WikiLeaks, a donation-funded
website where whistleblowers could anonymously share data. His
biggest scoop was placing over 250,000 private communiques between
American diplomats in 2010. The cables are alleged by US officials to
have originally been obtained by US soldier Bradley Manning, who is
in custody awaiting trial.
The
Australian national was arrested in the UK late 2010 after two
Swedish women filed accusations of rape and molestation. He appealed
against extradition, but fled bail once it became clear that
deportation to Sweden was inevitable.
Ecuador
granted him asylum in August.
Revenge over Assange? US oil companies attack Ecuador
The
relationship between the United States and Ecuador has generally been
respectable, but a series of events has made the rapport a little
weaker. From Ecuador giving Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
political asylum to an Ecuadorian court ruling Chevron to pay
billions in damages to the country, a new case has arisen involving
the US oil company Occidental Petroleum. Dr. Miguel Tinker Salas,
professor at Pomona College, joins us with more on the case and the
motives behind it..
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