Assange seeks asylum at Ecuador embassy

Wikileaks' Julian Assange, his deportation to Sweden imminent, has requested asylum at Ecuador's embassy in London. [Pic from Ravi Somaiya via Glenn Greenwald]

Update: The AP: "Ecuador's foreign minister says Wilikeaks chief Julian Assange has taken refuge in the South American nation's embassy in London and is seeking political asylum. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino says Ecuador is weighing the request."

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http://tomxvesely.blogspot.com/ thomas vesely

bravo ! fuckin’ well done !
please ecuador protect this idealist.
they are too few.
- http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
  
  Everyone knows that idealists can’t rape.
  - http://www.eff.org/ deaduncledave
    
    Oh? Was he convicted of rape already?
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000944001161 Rob Lescalleet
      
      No he wasn’t, THAT”S why Sweden wants him! If he’s truly innocent he should face up to it all and plead his case. This trying to hide BS just makes people think he’s guilty.
      - http://www.eff.org/ deaduncledave
        
        That’s the pretext alright. The one thing that people have been concerned with is that he could be extradited by Sweden, whereas the UK doesn’t play that way. Now, Skarphedin Njalsson on another thread claims that Sweden also doesn’t allow political extradition. If that is indeed the case, then I can only conclude that Julian has been winding us all up, in which case fuck ‘em. But IANAL, so and it seems saner to conclude that Sweden is acting on behalf of the US of A.
      - juepucta
        
        until he arrives in Sweden, is promptly handed to the US and under the Kafka statute is held forever without charges (bonus pts for cockamamie explanations of how he is a foreign combatant and/or needs to be held in territorial limbo / Guantanamo)
      - rocobo9
        
        oh come on man! you’re the reason this shit gets traction in the press. do you not think it’s co-incidental how a man with a website that makes the big people uncomfortable suddenly gets accused of rape? look at the timing of it all. come on man wake up and open your eyes. start thinking for yourself. read between the lines more. how can you not see this???
      - rocobo9
        
        do you honestly think he’d stand a chance in the trial? justice will prevail right? if you’re truly innocent you will be proven as such in court right? wake up
      - Warren_Terra
        
        rocobo9,
        No-one thinks he will stand a chance in the trial. This is because, as you can read elsewhere in this thread, his lawyer has already conceded he committed the acts of which he’s been accused.
        
        You may not feel those acts were offenses worthy of massive efforts towards extradition; I’d not agree with that position, though of course I’d readily concede that they are not acts likely to elicit massive efforts towards extradition under normal circumstances. But as to whether he’s guilty of committing those acts, unless his lawyer is conspiring against him the arguing is rather over and done.
    - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
      
      He’s admitted it. Don’t you believe him?
      - http://www.eff.org/ deaduncledave
        
        I missed that. Can you provide me a link?
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        Yes. Just like links are provided every single time this comes up on the site. Here’s Assange’s lawyer describing Assange’s version of events in one of the cases:
        
        “The appellant [Assange]‘s physical advances were initially welcomed but then it felt awkward since he was “rough and impatient” … They lay down in bed. AA was lying on her back and Assange was on top of her … AA felt that Assange wanted to insert his penis into her vagina directly, which she did not want since he was not wearing a condom … She did not articulate this. Instead she therefore tried to turn her hips and squeeze her legs together in order to avoid a penetration … AA tried several times to reach for a condom, which Assange had stopped her from doing by holding her arms and bending her legs open and trying to penetrate her with his penis without using a condom. AA says that she felt about to cry since she was held down and could not reach a condom and felt this could end badly.”
        
        Read the rest, in which his lawyers talk about him ripping her clothing and jewelry, having sex with a sleeping woman, and refusing to stop after the condom broke.
        
        Assange’s defense is that it’s not rape because they a) consented beforehand, b) because there were no threats of violence, and c) because the women didn’t actually withdraw consent because they were “only crying” and telling him to just” get it over with” rather than actually articulating the word no.
        
        It’s bullshit. And it’s sickening that people are defending this.
      - Cowicide
        
        Gideon , you are being incredibly disingenuous here. That is clearly NOT Assange’s lawyer “describing Assange’s version of events” as you say. It’s clearly Assange’s lawyer “Referring to the allegations in the European arrest warrant” as the ARTICLE SAYS.
        
        You are lying. What is your problem with sticking with the truth on this matter?
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        That is clearly NOT Assange’s lawyer “describing Assange’s version of events” as you say. It’s clearly Assange’s lawyer “Referring to the allegations in the European arrest warrant” as the ARTICLE SAYS.
        
        The lawyer is arguing that what his client did was not a crime. He’s referring to the allegations the women made as what his client did. How is that that not clear?
        
        He’s saying that Assange did this, but that it’s not a crime. Which is what Assange has always maintained. Neither Assange nor his lawyers disputes the women’s stories, only whether what they describe (and which Assange and his laywers maintain that he did) was rape.
        
        You are lying.
        
        I’m not lying, you’re having reading difficulties.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Gideon,
        
        Take a pie break.
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        Take a pie break.
        
        I think I’ll go eat an orange actually.
Digilante

Good luck – hope he gets in, and hope he continues his work that shows who the evil nations really are.
Mister44

“This just in… the US declares war on Ecuador.”
- awjt
  
  Moar liek “USA threatens to withhold foreign aid to Ecuador”
  - theophrastvs
    
    com’on guys! the US is far far more evil and responsible for all the world’s ills than that! think drones, think Israeli-mossad agent type kidnapping, think extreme rendition (to guantanamo), no due process, drug lords in the pay of justice department… geez, it’s not like reality hasn’t furnished you with enough conspiracy materials.
    - Digilante
      
      Think Stuxnet and Flame. Don’t even need to get off the couch and invade people anymore.
- http://mightybob.com thatbob
  
  The US has always been at war with Ecuador.
CH

Ahh… this makes me want to reach out and help him. Hmm… I can send him a package of handkerchiefs so he can dry his tears.

How about going to Sweden and talking to the police about the claims of rape? Get that done with and then you can go hide from the big baddies that are after you. Yesyes?

(Is that really an actual quote from him? The writing is pretty… um… could have benefitted from somebody actually reading it through once before hitting the send button.)
- Rotwang
  
  Yeah, waltz back into Sweden. Next stop? The good ol’ US of A. I think not. Time to get the fuck out of Dodge.
  - CH
    
    So… what has then stopped the US from having him extradited from the UK? Or are you implying something about the judicial system of Sweden?
    - arx
      
      The extradition treaty between the US and UK doesn’t allow extradition for political crimes, such as espionage. In Sweden, no such restriction exists.
      - Mister44
        
        What about France? Isn’t that were Polanski hid out at?
      - Skarphedin Njalsson
        
        Article 5, Section 5 of 14 UST 1845 (the US-Swedish extradition treaty) explicitly prohibits political extradition.
      - CH
        
        Perhaps (I haven’t checked that out), but I do know that Sweden cannot extradite for crimes where the possible penalty is the death penalty… which mr Assange himself pointed out above that it was a possibile penalty in the US.
      - arx
        
        Skarphedin: That may be true.
        
        But look at this:
        
        http://internationalextraditionblog.com/2010/12/08/julian-assange-sweden-and-u-s-extradition-treaty/
        
        Apparently, Assange could be “temporarily” transferred to the US for prosecution.
        
        While, I wasn’t technically correct, their law does allow him to be moved to the U.S., which is what he is claiming to want to avoid.
      - Digilante
        
        Forget political – the US will just call it terrorism and do its usual “we can go anywhere in the world, take anyone of any nationality for any reason, keep them in a secret jail, and then bring them back to the US to fry ‘em.”
      - Rotwang
        
        For that matter, when did the US ever give a damn about international law?
      - retepslluerb
        
        @mister44 Mr. Polanski is a French citizien and France doesn’t extradite their own.
      - Mister44
        
        @ retepslluerb
        Really – I assumed him Polish – or does/did he have dual citizenship.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Do you not have Wikipedia at your house? He was born in Paris.
      - Digilante
        
        Polanski has dual – French, Polish [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski], and given my own wad of passports, I understand that in order to have the legal protection of [and thus unfortunately legal responsibility to] the state of which you are a citizen, you must enter it using that state’s passport. In fact, I believe it is an offense in many places to enter your state on a different state’s passport [e.g. he cannot enter Poland on his French passport].
        
        This was a big issue some 15 [?] years ago when Poland updated the laws in order to conform to the EU, and suddenly US citizens with a Polish background could not go to Poland, as they could not enter on their US passports. Even those who officially renounced their Polish citizenship decades ago had to go through major hoops to get in.
      - teapot
        
        @Mister44:disqus Thanks for bringing up Polanski. Funny how there’s not much of a push to punish that scumbag despite the (undenied) sex with a minor charges against him. But he makes entertaining movies so we can’t hate him so easily, right?
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        He’s had a US arrest warrant out since 1978 and an international arrest warrant since 2005. There’s been a big push to get him back here.
      - http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith
        
        @boingboing-8e69a171e23f49ca690eb0b027c9b040:disqus
        
        Perhaps (I haven’t checked that out), but I do know that Sweden cannot extradite for crimes where the possible penalty is the death penalty… which mr Assange himself pointed out above that it was a possibile penalty in the US.
        
        Australia has the same requirement but countries with the death penalties have obliged with promises not to seek that penalty.
- http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
  
  didn’t you read the previous article?
  http://boingboing.net/2012/06/19/switzerland-is-one-gigantic-bo.html
  
  The entire country is a giant trap ready to be sprung.
  - Skarphedin Njalsson
    
    Want to know the best way to piss off Swedes? Confuse them with the Swiss :p
    - Antinous / Moderator
      
      To be fair, confusing them with the Swazi might be better.
      - http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
        
        Tomato; Tomato
        Australia; Austria
        
        what’s the difference?
  - CH
    
    Heh… although that was Switzerland, not Sweden. But I guess his point is that Sweden is a giant boob trap.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000944001161 Rob Lescalleet
  
  I’m with you CH. This running away just makes him look guilty.
Simon Bradshaw

I find it very disappointing that Julian Assange, having been granted the benefit of due process of law at every level of the UK legal system over eighteen months, now seeks to deny that same right of due process to the two women who have made very serious allegations against him.
- novium
  
  Well said.
- http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby
  
  If it were as simple as that then he’d be a monster. But there’s a very real possibility that the real incentive to get him back to Sweden is to ship him off to the US – which would be an injustice in itself. It’s complicated.
  
  Do you think that it’s standard practice to extradite people across Europe for QUESTIONING about allegations? They’re not even arresting him, and yet he’s being extradited – that’s odd to say the least.
  
  It’s an admittedly horrible position to be in. You have to ‘flee’ from an accusation (which lets be honest doesn’t look good) to protect yourself from some pretty serious shit.
  - http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art
    
    @ NathanHornby “If it were as simple as that then he’d be a monster.”
    
    And you know for a fact that he is not? Based on what? Certainly not the two women who are accusing him of a terrible crime. Or should their claims simply be disregarded?
    - http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby
      
      I suppose that I meant that he’d definitely be a monster. Rather than possibly being a monster but with other justifiable reasons to fight the extradition.
      - http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art
        
        Got it. Thanks :)
  - http://tryingsense.blogspot.com/ R_Young
    
    “But there’s a very real possibility that the real incentive to get him back to Sweden is to ship him off to the US – which would be an injustice in itself. It’s complicated.”
    
    I agree, and this scenario is what really splits my mind on this issue. That said, I think you’re off base that Assange is simply wanted for questioning; my understanding of Swedish law is that an arrest warrant, or whatever serves for it, is not issued until all parties are ‘questioned’ by the police. If this is correct, this serves for all intents and purposes as a warrant for Assange’s questioning and prelude to charges.As you say, it’s a very complicated issue. I found this article to be well balanced on the subject:
    http://www.smh.com.au/national/did-he-or-didnt-he-the-murky-politics-of-sex-and-consent-20101211-18tie.html
- miasm
  
  …plenty to be disappointed at in this situation and yet you seem to have been very specifically disappointed in particular.
- llamaspit
  
  Yes, the allegations are serious. But you are being disingenuous if you are claiming that there isn’t a very important political aspect to this whole event. If you look deeper into those allegations, you will see that they were suspiciously timed and coordinated for maximum effect, and Sweden had plenty of time to charge him (and did not) before he left the country. This is not a simple assault case.
Skarphedin Njalsson

It’s good to see the influential can still avoid taking the rap for sexual assault.

Oh wait, no it’s not, it’s mind numbingly depressing.
- Cowicide
  
  avoid taking the rap for sexual assault
  
  First of all, it’s an alleged sexual assault. Fixed that for you.
  
  Secondly, don’t you think you’re oversimplifying the situation maybe just a little bit?
  - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
    
    He’s admitted to raping both women. Or rather, he’s admitted that he had sex with one while she was passed out, and that he had sex with both of them over their objection.
    
    He’s not disputing their claims, only whether what he did was “real rape”. Ya know, because they were totally into him earlier in the night before he refused to put a condom on and had sex with a passed out girl.
    - Cowicide
      
      He’s admitted to raping both women. … He’s not disputing their claims
      
      Ok, Glenn Beck…
      
      I haven’t disputed their claims either, does that mean I’m guilty as well?
      
      If you are going to make these kind of potentially slanderous accusations, it’s ridiculous that you’re not providing direct links to Assange’s own statements. It’ll be interesting if you end up referring to the unauthorized “autobiography” that Assange does state is riddled with inaccuracies he didn’t write himself. Or are you going to provide some other hearsay?
      
      LINKS PLEASE.
      
      I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, if Assange is convicted of rape/sexual assault because of proper evidence and/or Assange does admit to it himself, then I’m willing to say he’s a rapist and I hope he’s put in prison. Until then, I think it’s pure idiocy to say he’s anything but an alleged rapist and nothing more.
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        Every damn thread about Assange people ask this, the links are provided, and then ignored. I’m not talking about whatever unauthorized “autobiography” you’re referring to.
        
        I’m talking about his lawyers statements during the extradition hearing relaying his side of the argument. As well as the interview in which he admitted to doing exactly what the women claim, but says that it’s not “real rape”, only rape under the “radical feminist” laws of Sweden.
      - Cowicide
        
        Provide the links, Gideon. Are you saying that you’re willing to accuse someone of rape without providing evidence because it’s “too much trouble” for you? Kind of fucked up, dude.
        
        I don’t know about you… I mean, I really don’t know about you…
        
        But, if I am going to accuse someone of a serious crime, I’m going to be prepared to back it up. I would at least save a few links to my computer before accusing someone of rape, murder, etc. who hasn’t been tried in a court of law.
        
        But, hey.. that’s just me, I suppose
        
        Once again, back up what you are saying, please.
      - Cowicide
        
        I’m talking about his lawyers statements during the extradition hearing relaying his side of the argument.
        
        Then you are now a proven liar. You made it very clear that Assange said these things himself. Now you are backpedaling and (mis)quoting hearsay from lawyers.
        
        You should be ashamed of yourself. If you bother to read what the lawyers said in context, they were repeating the charges against Assange and they were NOT giving “his side” by doing so. They were defining the charges against Assange and how they applied to the law in order to fight extradition, etc.
        
        But, in your world… Assange’s own lawyers were accusing Assange of rape, is that correct? Once again, show us all these glorious links you just can’t seem to find while you are in the process of making serious rape accusations against someone?
        
        I treat rape very seriously. So should you, Gideon. This isn’t a joke. You are accusing another human being of rape. BACK IT UP.
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        His lawyers relayed his side of the story in court, that’s really not good enough for you? Seriously?
        
        And you’re clearly misreading what his lawyers said. They were not merely restating the accusations, they were rebutting them with Assange’s version of events.
      - Cowicide
        
        And you’re clearly misreading what his lawyers said
        
        You’re projecting, Gideon and I proved it here.
        
        You’ve been quoting allegations from the arrest warrant and attributing to it being Assange’s version of events via his lawyers.
        
        Just, wow… Gideon… get a grip on reality, dude.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Cow,
        
        Take a pie break.
      - Cowicide
        
        [cow sees pie, salivates, then loses train of thought]
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        You’re projecting, Gideon and I proved it here.
        
        The only thing you’ve proved is that you’re not very good at reading what his lawyers are saying. Their argument is the same argument that Assange has been making all along- that the encounters the women described were consensual, not that what they’re describing is inaccurate.
        
        What they describe, and what Assange and his lawyers don’t dispute, is rape. It’s really clearly rape. And the excuses that they have made for why it’s not really rape and total bullshit.
    - lafave
      
      Then why did the Swedish police release Assange after questioning?
- David Llopis
  
  This particular person of influence is at risk of the privilege of being secretly, indefinitely imprisoned by a proxy State of the US. How do we know this? Because he proved it to us in his published leaks. And if that happens, it will have a significant chilling effect on those brave enough to expose illegal/immoral State actions.
  
  I can imagine you *might* find the sexual assault fact-finding mission a higher priority, but since you mention nothing else, it seems as if nothing else matters to you.
  - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
    
    Lots of us can separate our support for Wikileaks (and even longer-standing support for similar projects) from Assange. Why can’t you?
    - Cowicide
      
      I’ll take it a step further, Gideon. I can separate certain aspects of my support for Wikileaks from Assange AND not presume guilt upon someone who hasn’t been tried in a court of law. Why can’t you?
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        I assume that when someone admits to raping women, and them comes up with a laundry list of bullshit reasons why that rape isn’t “real rape”, that they’re both telling the truth about what they did and being a rapey misogynistic creep.
      - Cowicide
        
        I assume that when someone admits to raping women
        
        You seriously need to provide links to Assange making these statements himself. Can you?
      - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
        
        I linked the extradition hearing statements already in this story. Scroll up (or wherever). And I don’t have a link for the interview he did with (I think) Sky News in which he went on a rant about radical feminist rape laws in Sweden, but that too has been linked here on Boing Boing numerous times.
  - http://tryingsense.blogspot.com/ R_Young
    
    Now I am in no way discounting the possibility of extradition to the US (although that is opening up a WHOLE ‘nothing can of worms discussion), but calling Sweden a ‘proxy State of the US’ seems pretty damn idiotic. The country was fanatically neutral until very recently, and it hasn’t changed *that* much by a massive margin.
    
    “I can imagine you *might* find the sexual assault fact-finding mission a higher priority, but since you mention nothing else, it seems as if nothing else matters to you.”Why does it need to be a higher OR low priority? Isn’t the rule of law about giving every criminal charge it’s due? How important must a person be before any danger to them in the form of political calculation outweighs the need to hold them accountable for their actions?Put more bluntly, how much of a Hero does one need to be before they can rape women and get away with it?
    - David Llopis
      
      Enduring indefinite detention without charges is not an accounting for ones actions.
      - http://tryingsense.blogspot.com/ R_Young
        
        Agreed, but where does one draw the line between avoiding extradition for political reasons and avoiding facing up to charges of rape? I’ll add preemptively that I don’t know the answer.
John Stephens

Of course the next person in this sort of jam will have to post a monstrous bond, or else rot in jail until the legal issues are sorted out. But I’m sure everyone has thought of that, and decided that it’s worth it.
- http://tryingsense.blogspot.com/ R_Young
  
  Interesting point. Of course EU bonds seem like a clusterf#&$ to me right now; I haven’t even the slightest clue why the bail rates are vary so much.
http://twitter.com/rvitelli Romeo Vitelli

Doesn’t Ecuador have an extradition policy with the US as well? Just asking…
- lafave
  
  for certain enumerated crimes
  http://www.oas.org/juridico/mla/en/traites/en_traites-ext-usa-ecu.pdf
Antinous / Moderator

Now, I can’t stop imagining him as Rafael Correa’s house guest.
For chrissakes Julian, can you keep your bathrobe closed when you’re at breakfast?
http://twitter.com/Prentiz Richard Coates

If one of the Koch Brothers, for example, escape trial for sexual assault because their rich friends helped smuggle them into a foreign embassy, Boingboingers would be leading the cries of outrage. Let’s drop the double standard, Sweden is not China, Assange should face the charges against him in a court of law.
- lafave
  
  what trial? there has been no indictment. Chief Prosecutor Eva Finné declared, “I don’t think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape.”
- Cowicide
  
  If one of the Koch Brothers, for example, escape trial for sexual assault because their rich friends helped smuggle them into a foreign embassy
  
  That’s an obtuse oversimplification of Assange’s situation to say the least. Did you know that Assange offered to meet Swedish authorities in their embassy or even in Scotland Yard, but was refused?
  
  You should educate yourself on these very unusual procedures against Assange.
  
  Also, please remind me, when’s the last time American politicians have threatened to kill the Koch brothers, etc.?
  
  Let’s drop the double standard
  
  Let’s drop the false analogies.
- Tribune
  
  Can we lock Assange, the Koch Brothers and DSK in a room half way between Equador and Sweden and call it a day. I know not everyone will be happy but I think it is a net gain for most people.
Xof

So, explain to me again the basis of the presumption of innocence in the case of Assange and the presumption of guilt in the case of DSK?
- llamaspit
  
  Okay, try to follow. Assange slept with 2 women who were inviting him to do so, and only later found reasons to file charges. DSK had an encounter with a MAID who was by far unequal to him and had every reason to expect not to be believed.
  
  I don’t know who did what to who in either case, but it’s not hard to see the differences.
  - http://twitter.com/GideonTJones Gideon Jones
    
    That is such bullshit. According to Assange, he had sex with one of the women while she was passed out. And also according to Assange, both the women he slept with told him no because he wouldn’t put a condom on, and he had sex with them anyways.
    
    Consenting once, earlier in the night, does not just give you permanent license to have sex with someone, even over their objection.
    
    I suspect (but don’t know) that DSK raped the maid (and a whole lot of other women), but Assange? He’s straight up admitted it. We know he did it. Period.
    - Ultan
      
      No matter how often you repeat your lie, that does not make it true.
    - http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith
      
      Passed out != Asleep.
- http://whimsicalacious.tumblr.com/ Patrick McGorrill
  
  DSK did some sort of high level political stuff and Assange did some sort of anti-government stuff with computers and wikipages and whatever, and that tells us what sort of person each one is.
  Or you could stereotype the alleged victims. Everyone knows immigrant blacks are victims whereas white, Scandinavian women are totally empowered in every aspect of their lives thanks to socialism and stuff.
  I don’t know why we even need trials. It was so obvious DSK was guilty, it’s, like, duh!
- irksome
  
  Ideology, it would seem.
  
  Maybe I’m being a dick but I have to wonder if all those granting Assange the presumption of innocence are willing to extend that courtesy to all those accused of having sex with women without their consent. I know I’m not, but that’s my issue.
  
  If you do, good for you. If you don’t, what makes this case special?
  
  Ideology, it would seem.
  - teapot
    
    This case is special because the target of the accusations happens to be an enemy of every major power in the world – particularly the US.
    
    I’m not commenting on the facts of his guilt or innocence but those who say he should just go face the music in Sweden are clearly unfamiliar with the textbook methods of character assassination. If this was about justice then why didn’t the Swedes agree to question him in the UK?
    
    The fact that he has to take refuge in the embassy of a South American nation because he cannot rely on his own nation’s government to protect him is an indictment of the west’s complicity with the US’s political agenda.
    
    The Australian PM Julia Gillard constantly avoids answering specific questions on whether there is an extradition order for Assange as she likely knows there is one. This is from last week’s QandA:
    
    TJ (host): Julian Burnside in Melbourne, Victoria: “Has the PM asked the US if they intend to try to get Assange from Sweden?”
    
    JG: To Julian Burnside watching in Melbourne: we’ve got no advice from the US Government about seeking extradition of Mr Assange and every step of the way that Mr Assange has faced court proceedings, we have provided him with full consular assistance. He’s got exactly the same assistance that any other Australian faced with legal difficulties would get.
    
    She always gives this throwaway line that they’ve “got no advice” from the US and never touches the part that asks if she’s made inquiries. This woman used to be a lawyer. She knows how to answer a question without answering a question. She also lies through her teeth in that several alleged Australian drug traffickers have received FAR more support from the Australian government than Assange has received.
    - http://tomxvesely.blogspot.com/ thomas vesely
      
      add to that the current antics in lybia by our foreign minister on behalf of another australian.
http://twitter.com/trempls tré

A lot of folks in this thread talking about Assange needing to face due process for the allegations of sexual assault, and they’re right. The problem with that is this: if he doesn’t go to Sweden, then he doesn’t go through that due process, and if he does go to Sweden, they send him to the US where he still doesn’t go through that due process. Sending him to Sweden doesn’t get him into a Swedish court for sexual assault charges, it gets him into a US court for espionage charges. How’s that for justice for the victims?
- http://twitter.com/djhopscotch bill
  
  FYI the UK does extradite people to the US.
  - http://twitter.com/trempls tré
    
    As mentioned before in this thread, not for political crimes.
    - http://twitter.com/djhopscotch bill
      
      http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/industrial-espionage-suspects-to-be-extradited-from-u-k-1.62510
      - http://twitter.com/trempls tré
        
        Thanks for the info, didn’t know. Still, lafave has a point: it’d be a hell of a lot easier to take him from Sweden than from the UK. Further, my point still stands: he wouldn’t be in Sweden long enough to step foot in a court.
        
        EDIT: also, actually R’ing TFA, this is a case that would be an excellent example of the extradition agreement between the UK and Israel, but means next to nothing about the agreement between the UK and the US.
      - teapot
        
        As mentioned by tré your link does not support your claim. That case refers to Israel, and the charges are criminal, not political.
  - lafave
    
    The US wants to avoid having extradition hearings and appeals, and the UK would be able to resist the political pressure more than the Swedes, who wouldn’t even need to have a hearing to extradite “temporarily”
- Marc45
  
  I would tend to agree. There’s way too much political pressure. He pissed off a lot of high level people. They’ve made no secret they want to throw the guy into a dungeon.
  
  Let’s put it this way, if you were in his shoes would you voluntarily submit to the whims of the US justice dept. via Sweden’s extradition policy? We’ve all seen how the US justice system works out for “accused” but not charged terrorists.
gregarious

How did he even get to the embassy? I thought he was on house arrest.
- Simon Bradshaw
  
  His supporters would have you believe that. In fact, Assange has been on bail for 18 months; he has to live at a specified address and spend a certain amount of time there per day on a tagged curfew, but he is by no means under ‘house arrest’.
  
  Mind you, he is now seemingly in breach of his bail conditions and so will face arrest on that matter, irrespective of anything else, as soon as he walks out of the Equadorian embassy. This is what confuses me: what is his game plan? Does he intend to subject himself to self-imposed real house arrest for the rest of his life, stuck in an embassy he cannot leave without being arrested?
http://twitter.com/ErnestValdemar Ernest Valdemar

Is there something unique about Ecuador’s extradition law that makes it especially attractive to Assange?

Nothing against Ecuador, but it seems like such a random choice without more information.
- lafave
  
  http://www.oas.org/juridico/mla/en/traites/en_traites-ext-usa-ecu.pdf
  
  read the list of enumerated, extraditable offenses
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Ecuador is on the left politically and has recently expelled the US ambassador. That makes it a likely political haven without having to go whole hog and move in with Hugo Chavez or the Castros.
  - http://twitter.com/ErnestValdemar Ernest Valdemar
    
    Gracias a todos. I was asking out of genuine, inexcusable ignorance, not to promote a particular position. I was just digging through Wiki looking for clues, but thank you to lefave and Antinous for saving me some time.
- awjt
  
  Assange, being well-connected, and net-wardly inclined, educated himself. He has a few other places lined up, too, besides Ecuador. I’m guessing….
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extradition_law_in_the_United_States#Countries_with_diplomatic_relations_but_no_extradition_treaty
http://profile.yahoo.com/OMHO6ER5QJE3SIZ35VAXIRCLYM Stephan

Should he ever get extradited to the US he can always release the security key to his “life insurance”, aka the damning information he apparently holds but doesnt release.

And where does this idea come from that Sweden would more willingly extradite him to the US than the UK. In Europe the US has only one lapdog and everyone knows who that is.

I also think the evidence in the rape case clearly shows that the allegations against him are fabricated.
Why would a woman gush about him in her tweets just to accuse him of rape two days later?
- Digilante
  
  > In Europe the US has only one lapdog
  
  I presume you mean the UK? I would argue that Poland went past the lapdog stage, directly to the tongue up the ass stage some time ago. The US has been waving the “visa exemption” carrot for years and years now, in exchange for… locations for missiles, secret prisons, military support in all the typical cowboy outings to the mid east and so on.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000444450214 Genre Slur

Intelligent move on Julian’s part. Bear in mind his strategy is probably not responding to the opinion of general humans. Just to point out the obvious.
niktemadur

Julian Assange, “my conejito” for Los Conquistadores De Ecuador!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3kqfo8DlsY
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  If that’s Ecuador’s response to this, they need to up their game.
  - niktemadur
    
    Well, what Los Conquistadores lack in budget, they make up for in red blood cells. At that altitude, the Bloodhound Gang would be on their knees and gasping for breath.
    - Antinous / Moderator
      
      Well…Jimmy Pop would be on his knees, but that’s just so that Jared could pee on his head.
http://SALON WHITE DRAGON

If a US jury were presented the entire rape case against Julian they would never stop laughing.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  Yeah, rape trials are hilarious, dude.
- http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo
  
  I’m pretty sure the public shaming and house arrest and all rest of it he’s copped so far goes beyond what most societies would consider a proportionate punishment; I gather his alleged acts, although undeniably rapey, aren’t quite considered rape as such in the vast majority of jurisdictions. Maybe counselling and good behaviour bond kind of stuff, I guess.
  
  So, yeah, probably. But a military tribunal or whatever cockamamie kangaroo court they have waiting for him will be wearing their serious faces…
  - http://SALON WHITE DRAGON
    
    Public shaming and house arrest etc…for what??? A maybe rape? The goofy part is the gold braid jury needs to scratch its collective bald head to arrive at a charge that proves damages to America were actually caused by Assange. The ultimate gag is that many of the charges are the very secrets Assange was accused of exposing…SO WE’RE NOT PERMITTED TO KNOW THEM! Whoa Nelly…its crazy time!
hakuin

Publish the Insurance key, Julian.
http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Witt/1041651388 David Witt

Interesting – posts like this make me wonder how many agents provocateur are assigned to BoingBoing, and how many are just useful idiots who are really really concerned about ‘the women’ and ‘due process’ in English law. I’m guessing more of the former, and the latter are just because that rapey pinko lib Assange MUST SUBMIT TO THE AUTHORITIES!
- novium
  
  Yes, because being concerned that serious crimes against women are being once again dismissed by all and sundry because they were allegedly committed by a Great Man is totally something useful idiots do.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  posts like this make me wonder how many agents provocateur are assigned to BoingBoing
  
  Well, they must have perfected deep cover since most have been commenting here for years on a variety of subjects. It’s also possible that disagreeing with you is not evidence of being an agent provocateur. Or perhaps that they enjoy an honest respect for both women and due process, which you attribute to mere lip service.
dilinger

As someone who was born in Ecuador, the thought of the US rounding up Ecuadorians as “enemy combatants” after Ecuador has been declared a terrorist state sends shivers down my spine. :(
- niktemadur
  
  Didn’t happen to Bolivians with Evo Morales at the helm, and have you seen just how many native Venezuelans play baseball in the US?
  Did Homeland Security descend upon native Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen when with a full bouquet of microphones in front of him, he (mildly) praised Fidel Castro… in Miami?
Jesse in Japan

If Assange is really worried about being extradited to the US for possible execution (and he didn’t really commit any sex crimes), he should be begging the British to send him to Sweden. That’s got to be one of the safest places somebody who doesn’t want to be executed can go.
maggie kerr

Sweden has some of the toughest rape laws in the country. Assange is accused of committing the lesser offense of “emotional coercion”, which wouldn’t even get him jail time in the USA. Some Swedish men joke that they need to have their partner sign a contract before they have sex.
- niktemadur
  
  Sweden has some of the toughest rape laws in the country.
  
  Alrighty then…
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    Well, if Africa’s a country, why does Europe have to be a whole continent? Especially when it isn’t one anyway.
    - niktemadur
      
      …if Africa’s a country…
      lol WUT?!!
      
      Why does Europe have to be a whole continent? Especially when it isn’t one anyway.
      Don’t know about elementary schools elsewhere, but in Mexico they taught us about the “Continente Euro-Asiatico-Africano”. By that standard, Asia’s tiniest subcontinent is the European Peninsula.
      
      Then there’s… America! Spanning all the way from the Aleutians in the USA to Tierra Del Fuego in Argentina… America.
      From its’ alpacas in Lake Titicaca to its’ capybaras and toucans in Panama… America!
      
      See what I did there?
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Google “Africa is not a country.”
      - niktemadur
        
        Damn, I seriously did not know and find it sort of inconceivable that so many people, including some usual suspects (Palin, Santorum), think that Africa is a country, yikes.
        
        Then again, once while chatting with a lady from Ethiopia, she mentioned that people from western African nations have asked her some outlandish questions, such as “Can you see the moon from your country?”
        
        This conversation arose because I mentioned the highlands, Addis Ababa, Haile Selassie and Abebe Bikila, then admitted and apologized that it was all I knew about her country, and she answered “Well that’s way more than most non-Ethiopians I know”.
- maggie kerr
  
  oop! you got me! toughest rape laws pretty much everywhere!
Lord Humongous

Why does Assange think he will be safer from the U.S. in Ecuador? The Monroe Doctrine grants the U.S. jurisdiction there.
http://profile.yahoo.com/65KXANPVQHQ5ELO7VVUUU5UGZY Maurice

He’s just scared the Swedes will toss him the the US for trial on espionage charges.

Silly boy. The Obama admin cares not one whit about espionage.

PS: Has “Our Hero” managed to do one single thing to help the poor dumb bastard who gave him the docs, and is now looking at 20 years at hard labor?

No? Strange…