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Julian Assange's asylum stalemate no nearer resolution one year on Julian Assange's asylum stalemate no nearer resolution one year on
(4 months later)
Vivienne Westwood has paid a visit, as have the American civil rights activist Cornel West and the "cyberlibertarian" campaigner and former Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow.Vivienne Westwood has paid a visit, as have the American civil rights activist Cornel West and the "cyberlibertarian" campaigner and former Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow.
Lady Gaga popped in while in town to launch her fragrance, after the singer MIA tweeted that she would supply tea and cake. On Thursday, René "Residente" Pérez, the lead singer of a Puerto Rican rap duo called Calle 13, called round to collaborate on a song about free expression.Lady Gaga popped in while in town to launch her fragrance, after the singer MIA tweeted that she would supply tea and cake. On Thursday, René "Residente" Pérez, the lead singer of a Puerto Rican rap duo called Calle 13, called round to collaborate on a song about free expression.
And on Sunday, 362 days after Julian Assange first asked Ecuador to grant him political asylum, the WikiLeaks founder hosted his most senior visitor yet, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño. The politician's meeting with his British opposite number, William Hague, was the first ministerial-level talks of a five-nation diplomatic tangle that to date has frustrated all attempts at resolution: what on earth is to be done about Julian Assange?And on Sunday, 362 days after Julian Assange first asked Ecuador to grant him political asylum, the WikiLeaks founder hosted his most senior visitor yet, the country's foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño. The politician's meeting with his British opposite number, William Hague, was the first ministerial-level talks of a five-nation diplomatic tangle that to date has frustrated all attempts at resolution: what on earth is to be done about Julian Assange?
Wedndesday will mark a year since Assange first walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge, west London, and asked for asylum, since when he has not set foot outside its tiny suite of offices. The Australian took the dramatic step after losing the final stage of a long battle to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer accusations by two women of rape and sexual assault.Wedndesday will mark a year since Assange first walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge, west London, and asked for asylum, since when he has not set foot outside its tiny suite of offices. The Australian took the dramatic step after losing the final stage of a long battle to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer accusations by two women of rape and sexual assault.
Assange argues that going to Sweden would leave him vulnerable to onward extradition to the US to face potential espionage charges relating to the WikiLeaks cable releases. To his critics, however, it was an opportunistic attempt to avoid Sweden's legitimate judicial process.Assange argues that going to Sweden would leave him vulnerable to onward extradition to the US to face potential espionage charges relating to the WikiLeaks cable releases. To his critics, however, it was an opportunistic attempt to avoid Sweden's legitimate judicial process.
Ecuador granted asylum two months later, but Britain vowed he would be arrested if he so much as stepped outside to take the air. And so the man whose Cablegate leaks shook the world has been eating, sleeping, working and receiving visitors in a room less than five metres wide, housing a single bed, a bookshelf, a small round table and chairs.Ecuador granted asylum two months later, but Britain vowed he would be arrested if he so much as stepped outside to take the air. And so the man whose Cablegate leaks shook the world has been eating, sleeping, working and receiving visitors in a room less than five metres wide, housing a single bed, a bookshelf, a small round table and chairs.
Ecuador's tiny embassy occupies part of a single storey of a red-bricked mansion block immediately to the rear of Harrods. On one side of the building is the shop's loading bay and a noisy taxi rank, on the other a small alleyway in which a number of police vehicles park day and night. A uniformed officer is on permanent duty on the building's steps, while others stand watch nearby to ensure Assange does not make a bid for freedom.Ecuador's tiny embassy occupies part of a single storey of a red-bricked mansion block immediately to the rear of Harrods. On one side of the building is the shop's loading bay and a noisy taxi rank, on the other a small alleyway in which a number of police vehicles park day and night. A uniformed officer is on permanent duty on the building's steps, while others stand watch nearby to ensure Assange does not make a bid for freedom.
Inside, the Australian shares a bathroom, in which a shower was installed after he became a surprise house guest, and has access to a tiny basic kitchen. He has a running machine – a gift from the film director Ken Loach – and receives regular visits from a personal trainer, and from a small core of WikiLeaks staffers who keep him supplied with fresh food and clean clothes. His room is so dim, Assange has said, that he relies on a lamp that mimics blue sky, set to a timer, to stop him working all night.Inside, the Australian shares a bathroom, in which a shower was installed after he became a surprise house guest, and has access to a tiny basic kitchen. He has a running machine – a gift from the film director Ken Loach – and receives regular visits from a personal trainer, and from a small core of WikiLeaks staffers who keep him supplied with fresh food and clean clothes. His room is so dim, Assange has said, that he relies on a lamp that mimics blue sky, set to a timer, to stop him working all night.
Preparing for a rare appearance on the embassy's balcony, he once burned his face so badly on the lamp that his skin blistered. It is a little like living in a space station, he has said.Preparing for a rare appearance on the embassy's balcony, he once burned his face so badly on the lamp that his skin blistered. It is a little like living in a space station, he has said.
And yet, for all his constraints, Assange has a number of laptops and mobile phones and a fast internet connection, and that, say supporters, makes his situation greatly preferable to what he considers his alternatives.And yet, for all his constraints, Assange has a number of laptops and mobile phones and a fast internet connection, and that, say supporters, makes his situation greatly preferable to what he considers his alternatives.
"Certainly I think it is hard for him, as it would be hard for anybody in his position," says his friend and regular visitor Vaughan Smith, whose Norfolk home was the Australian's previous long-term address while he was on bail fighting extradition. "He hasn't seen a ray of sunshine for a year, so it's not comfortable. Nevertheless, he is a very determined person, and he's bearing with it in a way that I think not everybody would be able to do."Certainly I think it is hard for him, as it would be hard for anybody in his position," says his friend and regular visitor Vaughan Smith, whose Norfolk home was the Australian's previous long-term address while he was on bail fighting extradition. "He hasn't seen a ray of sunshine for a year, so it's not comfortable. Nevertheless, he is a very determined person, and he's bearing with it in a way that I think not everybody would be able to do.
"I think Julian is somebody who sees a world outside on the internet that perhaps some of us don't see, and he is able to work. Were he in a prison cell he would be unlikely to have that access.""I think Julian is somebody who sees a world outside on the internet that perhaps some of us don't see, and he is able to work. Were he in a prison cell he would be unlikely to have that access."
The journalist John Pilger, another regular visitor, agrees that Assange's constrained life is "certainly better than that on offer in Sweden and the United States". "In the meantime, he is busy day and night. The number of people who come simply to offer their support is remarkable. What strikes me whenever I see him is his good humour; he has a wry, mischievous wit and is always good company. The paranoia of which he is accused by his enemies often applies to them, not him."The journalist John Pilger, another regular visitor, agrees that Assange's constrained life is "certainly better than that on offer in Sweden and the United States". "In the meantime, he is busy day and night. The number of people who come simply to offer their support is remarkable. What strikes me whenever I see him is his good humour; he has a wry, mischievous wit and is always good company. The paranoia of which he is accused by his enemies often applies to them, not him."
Pilger has brought his fellow Australian DVDs of Catch-22, Borat and Dr Strangelove; Assange has also worked his way through box sets of The West Wing and The Twilight Zone. But most of the time, Assange says, he works: 17 hours a day, seven days a week. That includes giving frequent videolink interviews, issuing statements about issues of web expression and liaising with supporters in Australia, where he is running for election to the Senate.Pilger has brought his fellow Australian DVDs of Catch-22, Borat and Dr Strangelove; Assange has also worked his way through box sets of The West Wing and The Twilight Zone. But most of the time, Assange says, he works: 17 hours a day, seven days a week. That includes giving frequent videolink interviews, issuing statements about issues of web expression and liaising with supporters in Australia, where he is running for election to the Senate.
What is Assange holding out for at the embassy? What the Australian and his supporters want is clear. "The lawful, moral and humane solution is for the British government to abide by its obligations under international law and allow Julian Assange to leave this country under protection of the government of Ecuador," says Pilger.What is Assange holding out for at the embassy? What the Australian and his supporters want is clear. "The lawful, moral and humane solution is for the British government to abide by its obligations under international law and allow Julian Assange to leave this country under protection of the government of Ecuador," says Pilger.
"With the Obama administration at war with truth-tellers and the world, does anyone seriously doubt the kind of future that awaits Assange if he is not protected?""With the Obama administration at war with truth-tellers and the world, does anyone seriously doubt the kind of future that awaits Assange if he is not protected?"
While no extradition order has been issued by the US, a secret grand jury is believed to have been looking into potential grounds for prosecution of Assange, and his supporters are convinced the US would like to try him.While no extradition order has been issued by the US, a secret grand jury is believed to have been looking into potential grounds for prosecution of Assange, and his supporters are convinced the US would like to try him.
That is also Ecuador's argument. "There is no question that Britain not only can allow safe passage [from the embassy to Ecuador]... but that it must," Patiño said in an interview with the BBC this week, insisting that any possible future prosecution in the US would be politically motivated.That is also Ecuador's argument. "There is no question that Britain not only can allow safe passage [from the embassy to Ecuador]... but that it must," Patiño said in an interview with the BBC this week, insisting that any possible future prosecution in the US would be politically motivated.
Some have floated a possible compromise deal, in which Assange would go to Sweden with a guarantee from London and Stockholm not to extradite him on to the US (which would require the agreement of both). But even if the two governments were to agree – in itself, highly unlikely – it would not be enough to persuade the Australian to leave the embassy, say friends. "He's just as frightened of the British extraditing him to America as the Swedes," said one close associate.Some have floated a possible compromise deal, in which Assange would go to Sweden with a guarantee from London and Stockholm not to extradite him on to the US (which would require the agreement of both). But even if the two governments were to agree – in itself, highly unlikely – it would not be enough to persuade the Australian to leave the embassy, say friends. "He's just as frightened of the British extraditing him to America as the Swedes," said one close associate.
Assange has told reporters that he expects Sweden to drop the case against him, but Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the new lawyer for one of his two accusers, has shown no such appetite, saying: "Sweden must put pressure on Ecuador for Assange to be submitted to Sweden ... Assange will not set the rules of the game for how we conduct a preliminary investigation in Sweden."Assange has told reporters that he expects Sweden to drop the case against him, but Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the new lawyer for one of his two accusers, has shown no such appetite, saying: "Sweden must put pressure on Ecuador for Assange to be submitted to Sweden ... Assange will not set the rules of the game for how we conduct a preliminary investigation in Sweden."
Britain insists it is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the stalemate, and with the cost of policing the Australian's year in limbo estimated at £4m so far, or a little under £12,000 a day, its eagerness to do so is understandable.Britain insists it is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the stalemate, and with the cost of policing the Australian's year in limbo estimated at £4m so far, or a little under £12,000 a day, its eagerness to do so is understandable.
But the Foreign Office insists that it cannot allow Assange to leave the UK without acting on the Swedish warrant, and it is unclear how the legal working group set up by Hague and Patiño will be able to resolve what to date has been an irreconcilable difference: Quito believes international law demands that Britain let Assange leave, while London insists it must comply with UK law in extraditing him to Sweden.But the Foreign Office insists that it cannot allow Assange to leave the UK without acting on the Swedish warrant, and it is unclear how the legal working group set up by Hague and Patiño will be able to resolve what to date has been an irreconcilable difference: Quito believes international law demands that Britain let Assange leave, while London insists it must comply with UK law in extraditing him to Sweden.
And so, for the foreseeable future, Assange will stay in his Knightsbridge lodgings. "For us this is a matter of principle," said Patiño, "and if you have principle you have all the time in the world."And so, for the foreseeable future, Assange will stay in his Knightsbridge lodgings. "For us this is a matter of principle," said Patiño, "and if you have principle you have all the time in the world."
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