Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange arrested in London

[Devil Soul]

Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange arrested in London
Dawn.com | Reuters | AFPUpdated April 11, 2019
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Assange will be presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible, says Metropolitan Police. — AFP/File

Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, BBC reported on Thursday.

According to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), Assange was been taken into custody at a central London police station "where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as possible."

The MPS said that the force was invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum.

Footage shot by Ruptly, a video news agency, showed a frantic-looking Assange, with a large white beard, being carried down the embassy steps by several men into a police van.


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Britain has guaranteed to Ecuador that Assange will not be extradited to a country that has the death penalty, Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno said on Thursday after Assange was arrested in London.

“In line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law, I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty,” Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter.

“The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes that Assange's rights will not be violated.

Assange has been living at the embassy in London's plush Knightsbridge district since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden — allegations that have since been dropped.

The 47-year-old Australian was due to appear in court later on Thursday. He faces prosecution for breaching the conditions of his bail in Britain in 2012.

He had refused to leave the embassy, fearing ultimate extradition to the United States where WikiLeaks said he faces charges over his website publishing huge caches of hacked State Department and Pentagon files.

WikiLeaks had warned last week that a revocation of Assange's asylum could happen within "hours to days", citing sources in Ecuador.

'Truman Show' in embassy
WikiLeaks on Wednesday had claimed that it was being blackmailed by "dubious characters" who had obtained security camera footage of Assange inside the embassy.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, accused Ecuador authorities of gathering the images, which he said then found their way into the hands of a group in Spain, who were demanding $3 million (2.7 million euros) not to publish them.

The documents include thousands of photographs and gigabytes of video footage showing Assange meeting with lawyers and visitors and of him receiving a medical check-up.

"Since (President Lenin) Moreno took power in Ecuador (in 2017), Julian Assange has been living in a Truman Show type situation" with constant surveillance, Hrafnsson claimed.

The editor also accused embassy staff of photocopying a legal document belonging to Assange's lawyer Aitor Martinez.

WikiLeaks believes that the United States is working with Ecuador to extradite Assange to face charges, and that the embassy documents were "quite likely shared with the Trump administration", although it offered no proof of this.

Ecuador had said on Tuesday it was reassessing Assange's asylum claim.

 

[Devil Soul]

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange arrested by UK police
By Reuters
Published: April 11, 2019
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PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested on Thursday by British police and carried out of the Ecuadorean embassy, where he has been holed up for nearly seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault investigation.

A video posted online showed an agitated, frail-looking man with white hair and a white beard being carried out of the central London building by at least seven men.

“Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador,” police said. Police said they arrested Assange after being “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorean government’s withdrawal of asylum.”



US prosecutors press witnesses to testify against Assange: WikiLeaks

He was taken into custody at a central London police station and will be brought before Westminster Magistrates’ Court later. Assange took refuge in 2012 in Ecuador’s London embassy, behind the luxury department store Harrods, to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where authorities wanted to question him as part of a sexual assault investigation. Sweden later dropped the investigation, but Assange was arrested on Thursday for breaking the rules of his original bail
in London.

He feared being extradited to face charges in the United States, where federal prosecutors are investigating WikiLeaks. Assange’s relationship with his hosts collapsed after Ecuador accused him of leaking information about President Lenin Moreno’s personal life.

Moreno had previously said Assange has violated the terms of his asylum. Moreno said that he had asked Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty.

“The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules,” Moreno said.

WikiLeaks said Ecuador had illegally terminated Assange’s political asylum in violation of international law. To some, Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power by modern states and for championing free speech.

But to others, he is a dangerous rebel who has undermined the security of the United States.

Supporters of Assange had argued that living in the cramped conditions without access to sunlight had damaged his health. Sweden closed its preliminary investigation into a suspected rape in 2017 as there was “no reason to believe that the decision to hand him (Assange) over to Sweden could be implemented within a reasonable timeframe”.

But then Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny said at the time that the probe could be reopened should the situation change.

“If he at a later time were to make himself available, I can decide to immediately resume the preliminary investigation,” Ny, who has since retired, said in a 2017 statement.

Julian Assange charged in US: WikiLeaks

The statute of limitations for rape in Sweden is 10 years, unless it is deemed to be aggravated, in which case the ability to prosecute runs for longer.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority had no immediate comment on Thursday regarding the news of Assange’s arrest or whether a probe could be reopened.

 

[Rusty]

He's going to be sent to gitmo and tortured there. Poor guy

 

[Fenrir]

Asshole needs to shave. Good riddance.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Hero exposed various dirty deaings

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

He's going to be sent to gitmo and tortured there. Poor guy

Are you kidding me. He’s going to get a slap on the wrist for all the document revealing stuff since he didn’t do the actual stealing and since he isn’t an American he can’t be charged with treason so he can’t be executed. He’ll feel stupid he wasted his life hiding in embassies over that instead of paying some fine (which could easily be crowdfunded by all his supporters).

As for the rape accusations..well that’s up to Sweden.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Asshole needs to shave. Good riddance.

Why?

 

[rambro]

Hero exposed various dirty deaings

Sad to know evil triumps, thr good gets the shortend
While the bad walks free

 

[F-22Raptor]

London (CNN) — Police entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London Thursday morning, arresting Julian Assange and bringing the WikiLeaks founder's seven-year stint there to a dramatic close.

Metropolitan Police said in a statement that he was "further arrested" on his arrival at a London police station on behalf of United States authorities, who have issued an extradition warrant.

The UK Home Office confirmed the extradition request in a statement, adding, "He is accused in the United States of America of computer related offences."

Assange arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court Thursday afternoon.

Officers made the initial move to arrest Arrange after Ecuador withdrew his asylum and invited authorities into the embassy, citing the Australian's bad behavior.

Assange was initally detained for "failing to surrender to the court" over a warrant issued in 2012 and was in custody at a central London police station, police said.

He will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London as soon as is possible, police added.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/04/11/uk...ed-gbr-intl/index.html?r=https://www.cnn.com/


Excellent news!

 

[Reichsmarschall]

Asshole needs to shave. Good riddance.

lol so much for free press
typical western hypocrisy would cry rivers for victims in other countries and their rights but deny the same to their own people

 

[ZeEa5KPul]

LMFAO @ American lies and hypocrisy. For years it's been "we have no arrest warrants on Assange, what would we even charge him with?" They didn't even wait for the thugs that packed him into a van and disappeared him to drive off before calling dibs on him. Now he'll be subjected to torture enhanced interrogation at Guantanamo by the human rights-loving Americans.

 

[Sineva]

Hero exposed various dirty deaings

Yes,and they will no doubt be determined to make an example out of him for doing so.This deal sounds worthless,whats to prevent the british government from extraditing him to a third party nation,without a death penalty of course,who will then extradite him to the us...like sweden perhaps...
Now I seriously doubt that even the utterly deranged chump regime currently holding power within the us would attempt something as insane as a treason prosecution or death penalty case against assange,however I`m sure there are plenty of statutes on the books that could be used to ensure that he might wind up in prison for a long time.......which really is the whole point of this exercise,ie intimidation,to ensure that any other potential whistle blowers or those that might aid them,are either dissuaded completely or at the least are forced to think long and hard about it.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Asshole needs to shave. Good riddance.

The look on the rats face is priceless. Go rot in a cell!

 

[Nein]

Assange is a World Hero

 

[PeaceGen]

Assange is a World Hero

Yep. Without some Assang-ing of the intelligence ranks and databases from time to time, and plenty of positive press for such people by mass media channels like CNN, the risks of an Orwellian state, the risks of an overly authoritarian state, are far too large.

However, i hear the US is asking for up to 45 years in jail for this hack & release of state secrets, and that sounds reasonable so long as the jail he goes to is fairly comfy; no shanking or rape risks for these guys/women please...