Julian Assange Gets Ecuador Asylum, But Standoff Continues

Ecuador has granted asylum to Julian Assange, but he is still in the country’s London embassy, waiting to see if the UK government will carry out its threat to forcibly arrest the Wikileaks founder by force.

Julian Assange’s request for asylum should be granted because he faces a serious risk of death and abuse of his human rights if he were extradited to Sweden, said Ecuador’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino in a press conference in Quito. He responded angrily to Britain’s threat to revoke the immunity of the embassy, saying it amounted to blackmail, with Britain effectively “saying we will beat you savagely unless you behave.”

Assange in standoff

Assange’s fear that he would be extradited from Sweden to the US, to face trial for Wikileaks’ release of thousands of confidential US government documents, is a real one, said Patino, and in that instance he might face a military trial and the death penalty.

“Julian Assange is lauded globally for his work,” said Patino, according to quotes from  BBC World’s simultaneous translation feed. “There are serious threats of retaliation and reprisals that could put his security and even his life in danger.”

Despite diplomatic efforts by Ecuador, Britain has stonewalled discussions, with no guarantees offered of Assange’s safety, Patino claimed. “We are certain that his extradition to a third country is a real possibility,” he said, adding that “in the US he would not face a fair trial.”

The threat to invade its embassy was against international law, said Patino.

“He has an online connection and can continue his work,” said a Wikileaks spokesman. But  economist Tom Standage said it had “degenerated into a soap opera” that was doing nothing serious. Even hopes that the spirit of Wikileaks would live on have come to nothing – the spin-off OpenLeaks site, set up by Wikileaks staff, has not been updated for months, Standage pointed out.

The UK government will think carefully before it acts on its threat to invade the embassy, and is unlikely to do so, legal expert Carl Gardner told BBC World. The standoff could extend indefinitely, as Assange would be arrested if he left the embassy.

“It is clear from today’s announcement that Ecuador agrees with Julian Assange’s argument that his extradition would put him in danger,” said Ed Geraghty of the UK Pirate Party. “It may be a positive step for an Ecuador that has itself pursued crackdowns on private media and public dissent, however I hope that this is not an attempt to score political points, but a legitimate humanitarian move.

“As I have said before, regardless of whether we like the decision or not, the principle of asylum must be supported. The decision to grant asylum was Ecuador’s alone. It would be disastrous if the British, American or Swedish governments attempted to interfere with a vital process in protecting human rights globally.

“What is clear, however, is that whistleblowers face terrible risks exposing wrong-doing in ever more dangerous conditions as governments world-wide, including in the UK, are pushing for more thorough and pervasive surveillance. Wikileaks is bigger than one person and it must continue to operate with or without the involvement of Julian Assange.”

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