Julian Assange 'To Be Granted Asylum In Ecuador'

Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give Julian Assange asylum, officials within Ecuador's government have said.

The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up at Ecuador's London embassy since 19 June, when he officially requested political asylum.

"Ecuador will grant asylum to Julian Assange," said an official in the Ecuadorean capital Quito, who is familiar with the government discussions.

On Monday, Correa told state-run ECTV that he would decide this week whether to grant asylum to Assange. Correa said a large amount of material about international law had to be examined to make a responsible informed decision.

Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patiño indicated that the president would reveal his answer once the Olympic Games were over. But it remains unclear if giving Assange asylum will allow him to leave Britain and fly to Ecuador, or amounts to little more than a symbolic gesture. At the moment he faces the prospect of arrest as soon as he leaves the embassy for breaching his bail conditions.

"For Mr Assange to leave England, he should have a safe pass from the British [government]. Will that be possible? That's an issue we have to take into account," Patino told Reuters on Tuesday.

Government sources in Quito confirmed that despite the outstanding legal issues Correa would grant Assange asylum – a move which would annoy Britain, the US and Sweden. They added that the offer was made to Assange several months ago, well before he sought refuge in the embassy, and following confidential negotiations with senior London embassy staff.

The official with knowledge of the discussions said the embassy had discussed Assange's asylum request. The British government, however, "discouraged the idea," the offical said. The Swedish government was also "not very collaborative", the official said.

The official added: "We see Assange's request as a humanitarian issue. The contact between the Ecuadorean government and WikiLeaks goes back to May 2011, when we became the first country to see the leaked US embassy cables completely declassified ... It is clear that when Julian entered the embassy there was already some sort of deal. We see in his work a parallel with our struggle for national sovereignty and the democratisation of international relations."

Assange took refuge in Ecuador's embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual misconduct. He is said to be living in one room of the diplomatic building, where he has a high-speed internet connection.

Ecuadorean diplomats believe Assange is at risk of being extradited from Sweden to the US, where he could face the death penalty. Assange's supporters claim the US has already secretly indicted him following WikiLeaks' release in 2010 of US diplomatic cables, as well as classified Afghan and Iraq war logs.

Correa and Patiño have both said that Ecuador will take a sovereign decision regarding Assange. They say they view his case as a humanitarian act, and are seeking to protect Assange's right to life and freedom. On Monday the state-run newspaper El Telégrafo confirmed a decision had been made, although the paper did not specify what that decision was. It said that senior officials had been meeting in the past few days to iron out the last legal details.

Two weeks ago Assange's mother Christine Assange paid Ecuador an official visit, following an invitation by Ecuador's foreign affairs ministry. She met with Correa and Patiño, as well as with other top politicians, including Fernando Cordero, head of Ecuador's legislature. Both Patiño and Ms Assange appeared visibly touched during a press conference, which had to be briefly suspended when Ms Assange started crying.

Ms Assange also held several public meetings in government buildings, and in one case she was accompanied by the head of Assange's defence team, Baltasar Garzón, the former Spanish judge who ordered the London arrest of Chile's General Pinochet.

Other top political figures in Ecuador have been vocal about the government's support of Assange's bid. "Our comrade the president, who leads our international policy, will grant Julian Assange asylum," said María Augusta Calle, a congresswoman of the president's party, and former head of the Sovereignty, Foreign Affairs and Latin American Integration Commission during the 2008 Constitutional Assembly, during a meeting with Ms Assange.

Over the past year and a half, Assange has remained in touch with Ecuador's embassy in London. In April, he interviewed President Correa for his TV show on Russia Today, the English-language channel funded by the Russian government. The interview, which lasted 75 minutes, included a pally exchange in which Assange and Correa bonded over freedom of speech and the negative role of the US in Latin America. At one point Correa joked: "Are you having a lot of fun with the interview, Julian?" Assange replied: "I'm enjoying your jokes a great deal, yes."

Correa has made international headlines this year for what critics have called a government crackdown on private media. Analysts say that granting the WikiLeaks founder asylum could be a way for him to depict himself as a champion of freedom of speech ahead of the February 2013 presidential elections, in which he is expected to run again.

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Garyvdh said:

Now he will be a fugitive for the rest of his life. That's not a great lifestyle.
He has chosen the cowardly route in my opinion.
He knew what might happen when he started releasing all this information, now that the Chickens have come home to roost he wants to run away and hide?

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McSack said:

Then he should be charged with releasing the information, not some trumped-up sexual deviancy charge. Personally, I don't see why any government should have any secrets it needs to hide from citizens

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McSack said:

Then he should be charged with releasing the information, not some trumped-up sexual deviancy charge. Personally, I don't see why any government should have any secrets it needs to hide from citizens

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Garyvdh said:

Now he will be a fugitive for the rest of his life. That's not a great lifestyle.
He has chosen the cowardly route in my opinion.
He knew what might happen when he started releasing all this information, now that the Chickens have come home to roost he wants to run away and hide?

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evilstebunny said:

Are you seriously suggesting he should take on the US government? Your hate for the man is clouding your judgement.

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evilstebunny said:

Are you seriously suggesting he should take on the US government? Your hate for the man is clouding your judgement.

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Garyvdh said:

Um, he took on the US government a long time ago, China. Where have you been?

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British authorities have “warned” Ecuador that they could raid its embassy and arrest Julian Assange if he is not handed over. The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister responded by saying such a move would be a “flagrant violation” of international law.

Ecuador received a "direct" threat from the authorities in London that they are prepared to storm the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest Assange if he is not delivered to their custody. Ricardo Patino, Ecuador's Foreign Minister, said the "written threat," an aide memoire, was delivered to Ecuador's Foreign Ministry and ambassador in London.

The letter received by the Ecuadorian Embassy stated that British authorities have a legal basis, founded in the Diplomatic and Consular Act of 1987, to arrest Assange on the Embassy’s premises.

"You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr Assange in the current premises of the Embassy,” read the letter. "We sincerely hope that we do not reach that point, but if you are not capable of resolving this matter of Mr Assange's presence in your premises, this is an open option for us."

The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister noted that any entry by British authorities onto its ambassadorial premises in London would constitute a “flagrant violation” of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Ecuador considers such a measure to be an “unacceptable act of hostility” against its sovereignty, the minister said, adding that if implemented it would force Ecuador to “respond.”

Patino said his country will call for an urgent summit of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss the “threat” to a sovereign country in the region.

No threat, however, would force the country to give up the universal principles under which it continues to offer Assange protection, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry stated.

We are not a British colony," Patino said. "The days of the colony are over."

The Ecuadorian government's final decision on whether to grant Assange asylum has already been made, but will only be announced at 7 am local time (12 pm GMT) Thursday, the foreign minister stated.

Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office stated that London was still “determined” to arrest and extradite Assange to Sweden.

“The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offenses, and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said, stressing that the UK is seeking a “diplomatically agreeable solution” to the issue.

The decision to strip the Ecuadorian Embassy off its diplomatic protection has not yet been taken, the spokesperson added. “Under British law we can give them a week’s notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection. We are not going to do this overnight.”

WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnnsson told AFP that the threat to storm the Ecuadorian Embassy was “extremely serious,” and said the group’s legal team considered it illegal.
Preparing for Assange raid? London police gather at Ecuadorian Embassy

*Following the foreign ministry’s announcement, Assange supporters took to Twitter and other social media to urge people to gather in front of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to stop British authorities from raiding it.

A twenty-strong group of Assange supporters gathered outside the embassy, and organized a live stream from the scene. According to their reports, the live streams from the embassy suffered from DDoS attacks.

London police have moved in on the embassy after a press conference led by Patino. The foreign minister confirmed in his Twitter feed that the police presence around the embassy was growing.

Three police vans arrived at the embassy, and some policemen entered the lobby of the building but later left, Assange supporters gathered at the scene reported.

A pizza delivery man reportedly arrived to the embassy and tried to deliver a pizza for “Mark Anthony.” However, he was unable to do so and quickly left.

British police have penetrated the interior fire escape and foyer of the building housing the Ecuadorian Embassy, WikiLeaks tweeted. They also cordoned off an area around the building, and a police van remained parked some 20 meters away from the embassy.

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snail said:

Put him in a diplomatic convoy....and drive him to a diplomatic plane and fly his ass into Ecuador. Problem solved.

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Garyvdh said:

It would be an extremely dumb move to "storm the embassy" (if they did indeed say that).

Just leave the guy alone, he is enough of a clown himself to undermine his own efforts.
Just leave him to make a fool out of himself as he is doing a pretty good job of it already.

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