Image by chrisjohnbeckett via Flickr
Updated: February 5, 2016
US, other nations targeted Assange & WikiLeaks – whistleblower
RT America on Feb 4, 2016
Whistleblower and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be freed from his four-year refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Will he still face charges from foreign or American governments even if he’s cleared by a UN council? RT’s Lindsay France is joined by whistleblower and privacy advocate Jesselyn Radack to get a full view of what Assange still has to face.
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Assange embassy final countdown: What’s happening, what to expect tomorrow
RT on Feb 4, 2016
After being kept holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over three years, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announced that he will accept his fate and will allow the UK police to arrest him if the UN panel investigating his case rules against him.
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Will Julian Assange of WikiLeaks Go Free After U.N. Finds He Is Being Arbitrarily Detained?
Democracy Now! on Feb 4, 2016
http://democracynow.org – The BBC reports the United Nations panel investigating the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has ruled he has been “arbitrarily detained.” The U.N. says it will not confirm the report until Friday at 11 a.m. Geneva time. Assange first complained to the U.N. in 2014 that he was being arbitrarily detained since he could not leave the Ecuadorean Embassy in London without being arrested. Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012. Assange wants to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex assault claims, which he has repeatedly denied. He says he fears Sweden will extradite him to the United States, where he could face trial for publishing classified information. Police say a warrant for Assange’s arrest remains in place. Assange has called for his arrest warrant to be dropped if the panel ruled in his favor. The BBC reports the panel’s ruling will not have any formal influence over the British and Swedish authorities. We go to London to speak with one of Assange’s lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, who says, “We hope and expect that the U.K. and Sweden will act accordingly.”
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Arrest on sight? Bruno Kramm on Julian Assange’s possible fate
RT on Feb 4, 2016
The lengthy stay in the embassy has taken its toll on Assange’s health.
Several months ago, Wikileaks said that he was in constant pain and that the UK government had refused him permission to visit a hospital.
Earlier it was reported that he had developed a potentially fatal heart condition, with a number of other health problems….
RT talked to Bruno Kramm from the German Pirate Party.
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Updated: February 5, 2016
‘Sweden, UK lost’: Assange addresses supporters & media from Ecuadorian embassy balcony
RT on Feb 5, 2016
Britain says it rejects a UN panel ruling that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is the victim of arbitrary detention at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and insists he will still be extradited to Sweden if arrested in the UK.
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‘Assange’s only crime is telling world how it is secretly run’ – John Pilger
RT on Feb 5, 2016
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“A Significant Victory”: Julian Assange Hails U.N. Panel Calling for His Freedom
Democracy Now! on Feb 5 2016
http://democracynow.org – A United Nations panel has officially concluded WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been “arbitrarily detained” and should be allowed to walk free. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for more than three years. He wants to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations, which he has repeatedly denied and for which he has never been charged. He fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face trial for WikiLeaks’ revelations. We air reaction to the U.N. decision from Assange and his attorney, Melinda Taylor, and speak with Mads Andenæs, U.N. special rapporteur on arbitrary detention.
see also:
Freeing Julian Assange: The last chapter by John Pilger
UK, Sweden reject UN panel ruling in favor of Julian Assange
from the archives:
Julian Assange on The US Empire, Plans on Overthrowing Assad, The WikiLeaks Files
Julian Assange on Being Placed on NSA Manhunting List and Secret Targeting of WikiLeaks Supporters
Julian Assange: Obama’s Kill List
The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism by John Pilger
Dandelion Salad 
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http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/02/no-fair-hearing-for-assange-at-the-guardian/
Excellent piece by Jonathan Cook, thanks for sharing with us, David.
Good comments, folks!
John Pilger has been one of my heroes my a long time. As solid as they come!
I would only add that if I was Assange and able to leave the Embassy safely, I’d go directly to Russia, where they can protect him from the American and British warmongers and misanthropes.
Thanks, Frank. I was thinking that, too. Russia is protecting Snowden very well. I have more concerns about the stability of Ecuador, especially given the recent political changes in Venezuela. Kind of surprised the US hasn’t “taken” Assange covertly.
I totally agree with you Lo, on the situation in Ecuador and the recent political changes in Venezuela. Yes, Russia is protecting Snowden and I firmly believe they would protect Assange as well, and would have protected poor Chelsea Manning if she was able to get to Moscow before the Pentagon psychopaths imprisoned her.
On “taking” Assange covertly, I think the Anglo-American Imperialists figured the world would turn against them if they didn’t even respect this bit of international law of a safe haven in an embassy, courtesy of that government.
You may be right, Frank, about not taking Assange covertly. I don’t know.
Excellent and thorough post, Lo. Like Pilger, I have to be optimistic about a resolution now, but there should be a lineup of guilty parties compelled to give Assange an apology! Those include Obama, Biden and Clinton.
Thanks, Tom. It is a mega-post of videos.
I also hope that Assange will eventually be able to leave the embassy. Not holding my breath for an apology from the US govt.
Updated: added “‘Assange’s only crime is telling world how it is secretly run’ – John Pilger”
Updated: added “‘Sweden, UK lost’: Assange addresses supporters & media from Ecuadorian embassy balcony”
You know I read those supposedly deleted emails between the two accusing women when they were making the rounds. The Swedes really don’t have much to go on there as one even repudiated her testimony.
The problem is the US, of course, and supposedly K-k-k-arl Rove’s intervention is the ONLY reason this is still ongoing.
I agree with you, Virginia about the case against Assange in Sweden. Of course, the US wants him, big time. How can they want to use the Espionage law against him? It doesn’t make sense to me.
I’ve been listening to the response today on BBC Radio 4, that has provided reasonable coverage; they actually spoke on air to Sètondji Adjovia a very experienced member of the UN panel , that foreign secretary Phillip Hammond says consists of lay people, not legal experts.
Hammond dismissed the UN decision as ridiculous. Ha ha ha, nobody appears more ridiculous than he, the crass, incompetent, belligerent, affected ignoramus & pompous ass…
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/Members.aspx
http://johnpilger.com/articles/freeing-julian-assange-the-last-chapter
Edward Snowden has tweeted that the UK and Sweden’s response to the panel’s decision “writes a pass for every dictatorship to reject UN rulings”.
The UK (“govt”) position alleges Assange is a “fugitive from justice!” that he is technically in breach of his bail, and the Swedish warrant stands. Toady imbeciles ~ what a remarkable spectre. The USA waves its criminally bent magic wand, and the fairy dust-men in Britain dance and applaud.
Thanks, David.
A link to John Pilger’s article is on the blog post although it goes to a different website that republished it. It is listed under “see also”.
The Pilger article is exceptional.
I love most anything written by John Pilger.
Did you watch the interview with him on the post?
Yes Lo. I’ve just listened to all the new videos. As Pilger makes clear, all the facts of this case need to be thoroughly understood to form a coherent judgment.
A very popular BBC Radio 4 comedy show called the News Quiz, has just mocked Assange. So not all parties in the public eye at least, are willing to consider those details yet with dispassionate objectivity and informed clarity. The assumption remains, he is guilty. So those Murdoch smear tactics and questionable rape allegations still affect perceptions.
I do not know quite enough about the alleged rape myself, to comment from informed certainty, but John Pilger knows all of the twists and turns of this highly suspect narrative, and I respect his comprehensive knowledge.
PS
Phillip Hammond was educated at Oxford & only gained a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) “….a popular interdisciplinary undergraduate/post-graduate degree which combines study from three disciplines….The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the University of Oxford…this particular course has produced a significant number of notable graduates such as Christopher Hitchens, the British–American author, philosopher, polemicist, debater, and journalist; David Cameron, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Ed Miliband, the former Leader of the Opposition; and Tony Abbott, the former Prime Minister of Australia….” (Wikipedia)
I rest my case ~ these “notable graduates” with the arguable exception of the Hitch (and possibly Miliban,) seem to me only to be distinguished by their inadequacy.
So Hammond should bite his lip and save his puerile embarrassment, as all the members of the UN Panel he characterizes as mere “lay people” are light-years above and beyond him in academic standing, and particularly in their professional expertise with respect to International Law, Human Rights, Justice and Criminal Justice matters.
Mainstream media has not been kind to Assange, or indeed to other whistleblowers.
A good overview is on this older post, listed at the end of this post.