Assange seeks asylum....in Ecuador Embassy

Julian Assange to defy surrender notice

ALEX DIAZ FRIDAY 29 JUNE 2012

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he will "almost certainly" ignore a surrender notice issued to him by Scotland Yard.

Assange has been inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London since last week seeking political asylum as part of his bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about alleged sex offences.

The 40-year-old told the BBC's Newsnight programme that he will not be heeding the note delivered by officers from the Metropolitan Police yesterday morning, telling him to attend Belgravia police station at 11.30am today.

Asked if he would be going to the central London police station, he said: "Our advice is that asylum law both internationally and domestically takes precedence over extradition law so almost certainly not."

Assange is under diplomatic protection in the embassy and cannot be arrested by police unless he steps outside the building in Knightsbridge.

Scotland Yard declined to comment further, but in a statement released last night a spokesman said: "The Metropolitan Police Service have this morning, Thursday 28 June, served a surrender notice upon a 40-year-old man that requires him to attend a police station at date and time of our choosing.

"This is standard practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal process.

"He remains in breach of his bail conditions, failing to surrender would be a further breach of conditions and he is liable to arrest."

Assange, a computer expert who is on £200,000 bail, faces accusations of raping a woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in Stockholm in August 2010 while on a visit to give a lecture.

The Australian says the sex was consensual and the allegations against him are politically motivated.

The WikiLeaks website has published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments and international businesses.

Last month the Supreme Court upheld a High Court ruling that Assange's extradition was legal. Last week the same court refused an attempt by him to reopen his appeal against extradition, saying it was "without merit".

Ecuador is currently considering Assange's application for asylum in the South American country.

Assange will remain in Ecuadorian Embassy, spokeswoman says
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 29, 2012 -- Updated 1631 GMT (0031 HKT)

(CNN) -- Julian Assange will not honor a notice served to him by British police requiring him to turn himself in to authorities, a representative for the WikiLeaks founder said Friday.

Assange will remain inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been since applying for asylum in the South American country on June 19.

"This should not be considered any sign of disrespect," said Susan Benn of the Julian Assange defense fund, who read the statement.

Benn said the United States had empaneled a grand jury in its goal to press charges against Assange. Turning himself in would have started a process that would end with Assange being extradited to the United States, she said.

"It is clear that there is a plan to bring Julian Assange to the United States," she said.
Citing what she called cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of the alleged source of leaked documents, Pfc. Bradley Manning, Benn said that sending Assange to the United States "would be a violation of his rights."
Police say Assange is in violation of his bail by staying at the embassy, and that ignoring the notice to turn himself in is a further violation.
Assange is seeking to avoid being sent to Sweden to avoid allegations of rape and other sex crimes. He has been arrested in absentia, Swedish prosecutors have said.
He was arrested in Britain in 2010 because Swedish authorities wanted to question him about the allegations, which he denies. His bail conditions included staying every night at the home of a supporter outside of London.

Two women have accused Assange of sexually assaulting them in August 2010, when he was visiting Sweden in connection with a WikiLeaks release of internal U.S. military documents. He was arrested in Britain that December and has been fighting extradition ever since, saying the allegations are retribution for his organization's disclosure of American secrets.

WikiLeaks, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information, has published about 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables, causing embarrassment to the government and others. It also has published hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents relating to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange sought refuge at the embassy five days after the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom dismissed a bid to reopen his appeal of the decision to send him to Sweden -- his last option in British courts.

It is unclear when Ecuador will make a decision on Assange's asylum request.

bb1 wrote:Seems to be long on hot air and short on anything verifiable, LL. I just cannot see where Assange plans to go from here - in both senses.

crazytony wrote:Let's all knock on the door and ask for asylum.
That'll move the fool!

bb1 wrote:Ah, who could ever forget learning all about the Defenestration/s of Prague, LL?

The Ecuador embassy:



Got lots of windows, hasn't it?