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Julian Assange to ‘Accept Arrest’ if U.N. Panel Rules Against Him Julian Assange Has Been Arbitrarily Detained, U.N. Panel Finds
(about 3 hours later)
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, said on Thursday that he would turn himself in to the British police if a United Nations panel rejects his petition asserting that the years he has spent in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London trying to avoid extradition to Sweden amount to illegal imprisonment. Julian Assange — the founder of WikiLeaks who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden — has been arbitrarily detained in violation of international law, a United Nations human rights panel has concluded.
A ruling from the panel, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, is expected on Friday. “Should the U.N. announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police, as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal,” Mr. Assange said in a statement that WikiLeaks posted to Twitter on Thursday morning. The panel, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, will announce its decision on Friday morning in Geneva, according to officials there. Its findings are a symbolic victory for Mr. Assange, but they are not legally binding and may have limited, if any, practical significance.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me,” he concluded. Swedish prosecutors want to question Mr. Assange, an Australian citizen, over a rape accusation. Mr. Assange and his team of lawyers say that criminal inquiry is a pretext for prosecution, and that Mr. Assange is essentially a political prisoner, targeted by the United States and its allies because of WikiLeaks’ role in publishing more than 250,000 leaked State Department diplomatic cables — a deep embarrassment for the Obama administration — starting in 2010.
It was not clear whether Mr. Assange’s action was anything more than, in effect, a publicity stunt. Although the London police stopped a 24-hour surveillance of the embassy on Oct. 12, citing the cost of the operation, its position has not changed. In a statement that WikiLeaks posted to Twitter on Thursday morning, Mr. Assange promised to leave the embassy at noon on Friday if the United Nations panel ruled against him. “However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me,” the statement said.
“Should he leave the embassy the M.P.S. will make every effort to arrest him,” the Metropolitan Police Service, also known as Scotland Yard, said on Thursday. The BBC, without citing sources, reported on Thursday that the panel was set to rule in Mr. Assange’s favor, but Cécile Pouilly, a spokeswoman for the high commissioner for human rights, said only that the decision would be released at 11 a.m. in Geneva on Friday. The announcement created a stir on social media, but by Thursday afternoon the panel’s conclusions — which were presented several weeks ago to the British and Swedish governments, but will be formally announced on Friday — became clear.
The British government said in a statementit would “not pre-empt any opinions” by the working group, but added: “We have been consistently clear that Mr Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the U.K. but is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean Embassy. An allegation of rape is still outstanding and a European arrest warrant in place, so the U.K. continues to have a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden.” “The United Nations deemed that Mr. Assange is arbitrarily detained in contravention of international commitments,” Anna Ekberg, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, said in a statement. “We note that the Working Group’s view differs from that of the Swedish authorities.”
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention — established in 1991, and now under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commisssioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva — is the only nontreaty-based United Nations body that directly accepts petitions from individuals. Although its findings often carry symbolic weight, they are not binding under international law. Ms. Ekberg added that the matter was in the hands of Swedish prosecutors and referred questions to the country’s Ministry of Justice. Later, the office of the country’s director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said that the United Nations panel would not change its stance, or its request for Mr. Assange’s extradition.
Per Samuelson, a lawyer representing Mr. Assange, said on Thursday that if the United Nations panel ruled in his client’s favor, the decision would rest with the Swedish, rather than the British, authorities. The London police ceased 24-hour surveillance of the Ecuadorean Embassy in October, citing the cost of the operation, but its position also has not changed.
“It is not legally binding, but I would take it for granted that Sweden would follow it,” Mr. Samuelson said. “To go against a decision would be to go against a unit of the United Nations, and their own interpretation of human rights. In that case, it would be for the Swedish prosecutor to cancel the decision and withdraw the European arrest warrant.” “Should he leave the embassy the M.P.S. will make every effort to arrest him,” the Metropolitan Police Service, also known as Scotland Yard, said on Thursday.
After the working group gets a complaint, it offers the government — in this case, Britain — a chance to challenge the allegations within 90 days, and the complainant is then offered the chance to respond. The British government said in a separate statement on Thursday: “We have been consistently clear that Mr. Assange has never been arbitrarily detained by the U.K. but is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean Embassy. An allegation of rape is still outstanding and a European arrest warrant in place, so the U.K. continues to have a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden.”
The working group then rules on whether the case involves “arbitrary deprivation of liberty,” a category that includes arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention — established in 1991, and now under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva — is the only nontreaty-based United Nations body that directly accepts petitions from individuals.
Mr. Assange, who gained notoriety for publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential, politically sensitive leaked documents on WikiLeaks, including more than a quarter of a million American diplomatic cables, faces an accusation of rape in Sweden, which has requested that he be extradited there to face questioning. No formal charges have been filed against him. The panel — currently led by Seong Phil-hong, a South Korean law professor — has advocated on behalf of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s democracy movement; the Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was recently released from Iran; Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives; and the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, according to a website created by Mr. Assange’s supporters.
Mr. Assange has strongly denied the rape allegations, which were made in 2010, and has refused to comply with the extradition order, saying he fears that once in Swedish or British custody, he could be sent to the United States to face prosecution for publishing classified material. But unless the Swedish government drops the matter, Mr. Assange’s limbolike state is likely to continue. That said, his lawyers expressed hopefulness that he might soon be free.
Mr. Assange, an Australian citizen who fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in June 2012, was granted asylum by Ecuador in August of that year, as the extradition order prevents him from traveling. Diplomatic protocol, meanwhile, has kept the British police from arresting him. “It is not legally binding, but I would take it for granted that Sweden would follow it,” Per Samuelsson, a lawyer representing Mr. Assange, said on Thursday before the Swedish government confirmed the panel’s findings. “To go against a decision would be to go against a unit of the United Nations, and their own interpretation of human rights. In that case, it would be for the Swedish prosecutor to cancel the decision and withdraw the European arrest warrant.”
In his petition to the United Nations working group — which was prepared by a team of lawyers including the Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzón, famous for his advocacy on behalf of victims of torture in Latin America — Mr. Assange and his legal team described life in the embassy as claustrophobic, with no access to fresh air, sunlight or adequate medical care. The WikiLeaks cables were not only a serious political embarrassment for Washington, but also represented an intelligence breach, foreshadowing the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden’s subsequent disclosures about widespread electronic surveillance by the United States government. Many of the cables were analyzed and published, in redacted form, by a number of news organizations, including The Guardian and The New York Times.Mr. Assange has denied the rape allegations in Sweden, which were made in 2010. Claes Borgstrom, a lawyer for the Swedish woman who made the accusation, did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment.
“He is subjected to a continuous and pervasive form of round the clock surveillance, and he resides in a constant state of legal and procedural insecurity,” his lawyers wrote. The British police kept a 24-hour watch outside the embassy for several years, but ended the arrangement in October after having spent more than $17 million. Mr. Assange has refused to comply with the extradition order, saying he fears that once in Swedish or British custody, he could be sent on to the United States to face charges over publication of classified material.
Mr. Assange’s appeal also cited the prosecution and imprisonment of Chelsea Manning, a former United States Army soldier and major source for WikiLeaks, and who was sentenced to 35 years in prison, as an example of his “likely fate” should he be extradited to the United States. He fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood in June 2012. Ecuador granted him asylum in August of that year, but he has been unable to leave the building without facing arrest. Diplomatic protocol prevents the British authorities from entering the embassy to arrest him.
Ms. Manning leaked hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. Some of those documents, including American diplomatic cables, were published that year in redacted form by a select group of news organizations, including The New York Times. Mr. Assange’s petition to the United Nations working group — which was prepared by a team of lawyers led by the Spanish jurist and human rights advocate Baltasar Garzón — described his life in the embassy as claustrophobic and unhealthful, noting that he lacked regular access to fresh air, sunlight or medical care.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has five members. Its chairman is Seong Phil-hong, who teaches international law, human rights, and ethics in investment at Yonsei Law School in Seoul, South Korea. “He is subjected to a continuous and pervasive form of round-the-clock surveillance, and he resides in a constant state of legal and procedural insecurity,” his lawyers wrote.
Mr. Assange’s appeal also cited the prosecution and imprisonment of Chelsea Manning, a former United States Army soldier who was the main source for WikiLeaks, and who was sentenced to 35 years in prison, as an example of his “likely fate” should he be extradited to the United States.