UK judge refuses US extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange

January 05, 2021

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges over the publication of secret U.S. documents a decade ago, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.

In a mixed ruling for Assange and his supporters, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected defense arguments that the 49-year-old Australian faces a politically motivated American prosecution that rides roughshod over free-speech protections. But she said Assange's precarious mental health would likely deteriorate further under the conditions of “near total isolation” he would face in a U.S. prison.

"I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America," the judge said. Lawyers for the U.S. government said they would appeal the decision, and the U.S. Department of Justice said it would continue to seek Assange’s extradition.

“While we are extremely disappointed in the court’s ultimate decision, we are gratified that the United States prevailed on every point of law raised," it said in a statement. "In particular, the court rejected all of Mr. Assange’s arguments regarding political motivation, political offense, fair trial and freedom of speech.”

Assange’s lawyers said they would ask for his release from a London prison where he has been held for more than 18 months at a bail hearing on Wednesday. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was providing Assange with consular assistance. Morrison also said Assange would be free to return to Australia if he wins his court case.

“Assuming if that all that turns out, then he’s like any other Australian. He’d be free to return home if he wished,” Morrison told Melbourne Radio 3AW. Australia’s Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the journalists’ union of which Assange is a member, has called on the Australian government to expedite Assange’s safe passage to Australia.

Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen, co-chairs of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, which comprises more than 20 Australian lawmakers, called on the Australian government to ensure Assange would not be extradited if he returned to his home country.

Assange, who sat quietly in the dock at London's Central Criminal Court for the ruling, wiped his brow as the decision was announced. His partner Stella Moris, with whom he has two young sons, wept. Outside court, Moris said the ruling was “the first step towards justice,” but it was not yet time to celebrate.

“I had hoped that today would be the day that Julian would come home," she said. “Today is not that day, but that day will come soon.” The ruling marked a dramatic moment in Assange’s long legal battles in Britain — though likely not its final chapter.

It’s unclear whether the incoming Biden administration will pursue the prosecution, initiated under President Donald Trump. Assange's American lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the legal team was “enormously gratified" by the British court's decision.

“We hope that after consideration of the U.K. court’s ruling, the United States will decide not to pursue the case further," he said. Moris urged Trump to pardon Assange before he leaves office this month.

“Mr. President, tear down these prison walls,” she said. “Let our little boys have their father.” U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

Lawyers for Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lawyers for the U.S. government denied that Assange was being prosecuted merely for publishing, saying the case “is in large part based upon his unlawful involvement” in the theft of the diplomatic cables and military files by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

The British judge sided with U.S. lawyers on that score, saying Assange's actions, if proven, would amount to offenses "that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech.” She also said the U.S. judicial system would give him a fair trial.

The defense also argued during a three-week hearing in the fall that Assange risked “a grossly disproportionate sentence” and detention in “draconian and inhumane conditions” if he was sent to the United States.

The judge agreed that U.S. prison conditions would be oppressive, saying there was a “real risk” he would be sent to the Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. It is the highest security prison in the U.S., also holding Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

She accepted evidence from expert witnesses that Assange had a depressive disorder and an autism spectrum disorder. “I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate, causing him to commit suicide with the single minded determination of his autism spectrum disorder," the judge said.

She said Assange was “a depressed and sometimes despairing man” who had the “intellect and determination” to circumvent any suicide prevention measures taken by American prison authorities. Britain’s extradition agreement with the U.S. says that extradition can be blocked if “by reason of the person’s mental or physical condition, it would be unjust or oppressive to extradite him.”

This is not the first time the U.K. has refused extradition to the United States on those grounds. In 2018, a British court refused to extradite Lauri Love, a hacker accused of penetrating U.S. government networks, because of the risk he would kill himself. In 2012 then-Home Secretary Theresa May blocked the extradition of Gary McKinnon, who was accused of breaking into U.S. military and space networks, because of the risk he would end his life.

The prosecution of Assange has been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who say it undermines free speech and imperils journalists. They welcomed the judge's decision, even though it was not made on free-speech grounds.

"This is a huge relief to anyone who cares about the rights of journalists," The Freedom of the Press Foundation tweeted. Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. In 2012, Assange jumped bail and sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities — but also effectively was a prisoner, unable to leave the tiny diplomatic space in London’s tony Knightsbridge area.

The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for breaching bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange has remained in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison throughout his extradition hearing.

Associated Press reporter Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.

UK judge refuses extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange

January 04, 2021

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday rejected the United States’ request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying he was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected allegations that Assange is being prosecuted for political reasons or would not receive a fair trial in the United States. But she said his precarious mental health would likely deteriorate further under the conditions of “near total isolation” he would face in U.S. prison.

"I find that the mental condition of Mr. Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America," the judge said. She said Assange was “a depressed and sometimes despairing man” who had the “intellect and determination” to circumvent any suicide prevention measures taken by American prison authorities.

The U.S. government said it would appeal the decision. Assange’s lawyers said they would ask for his release from a London prison where he has been held for more than a year-and-a-half at a bail hearing on Wednesday.

Assange, who sat in the dock at London's Central Criminal Court for the ruling, wiped his brow as the decision was announced. His partner Stella Moris, with whom he has two young sons, wept. Assange's American lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the legal team was “enormously gratified by the U.K. court’s decision denying extradition.”

“The effort by the United States to prosecute Julian Assange and seek his extradition was ill-advised from the start,” he said. “We hope that after consideration of the U.K. court’s ruling, the United States will decide not to pursue the case further.”

The ruling marks a dramatic moment in Assange's years-long legal battles in Britain — though likely not its final chapter. U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

Lawyers for the 49-year-old Australian argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing leaked documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The judge, however, said Assange's actions, if proven, would “amount to offenses in this jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech.” The defense also argued during a three-week hearing in the fall that extradition threatens Assange’s human rights because he risks “a grossly disproportionate sentence” and detention in “draconian and inhumane conditions” that would exacerbate his severe depression and other mental health problems.

The judge agreed that U.S. prison conditions would be oppressive. She accepted evidence from expert witnesses that Assange had a depressive disorder and an autism spectrum disorder. “I accept that oppression as a bar to extradition requires a high threshold. ... However, I am satisfied that, in these harsh conditions, Mr. Assange’s mental health would deteriorate causing him to commit suicide with the ‘single minded determination’ of his autism spectrum disorder," the judge said in her ruling.

Lawyers for the U.S. government deny that Assange is being prosecuted merely for publishing the leaked documents, saying the case “is in large part based upon his unlawful involvement” in the theft of the diplomatic cables and military files by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

The prosecution of Assange has been condemned by journalists and human rights groups, who say it undermines free speech around the world. They welcomed the judge's decision, even though it was not made on free-speech grounds.

"This is a huge relief to anyone who cares about the rights of journalists," The Freedom of the Press Foundation tweeted: “The extradition request was not decided on press freedom grounds; rather, the judge essentially ruled the U.S. prison system was too repressive to extradite. However, the result will protect journalists everywhere.”

Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. In 2012, to avoid being sent to Sweden, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities — but also effectively a prisoner, unable to leave the tiny diplomatic mission in London’s tony Knightsbridge area.

The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, brought to court in a prison van throughout his extradition hearing.

UK judge rejects bid to delay Assange extradition hearing

September 07, 2020

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday rejected a request by lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to delay his extradition hearing until next year to give his lawyers more time to respond to U.S. allegations that he conspired with hackers to obtain classified information.

The adjournment request came on the first day of a London court hearing where Assange is fighting American prosecutors' attempt to send him to the U.S. to stand trial on spying charges. U.S. prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret U.S. military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

Assange’s lawyers say the prosecution is a politically motivated abuse of power that will stifle press freedom and put journalists around the world at risk. The U.S. Justice Department expanded its case against Assange in a new indictment announced in June, though it did not introduce new charges. But Assange attorney Mark Summers said it was “an impossible task” for the legal team to deal with the new allegations in time for Monday’s court hearing, especially since they had only “limited access” to the imprisoned Assange.

He said District Judge Vanessa Baraitser should excise the new American claims, which he said were sprung on the defense “out of the blue.” The judge rejected the request, saying the defense had declined an earlier opportunity in August to postpone the hearing. The defense then asked for the case to be adjourned until January. Baraitser refused, saying Assange’s lawyers had “ample time” before Monday to express their concerns.

The case has already been held up for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Assange, who has spent 16 months in a British prison, sat in the dock at the Old Bailey criminal court and formally refused the U.S. extradition demand. Assange, who lawyers say has suffered physical and mental ill-health because of his ordeal, wore a suit and tie and spoke clearly to confirm his name and date of birth.

Several dozen supporters, including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, gathered outside the courthouse, chanting, banging drums and calling his prosecution a threat to press freedom.

“Julian Assange is the trigger, he is shining the light on all the corruption in the world," Westwood said. American authorities allege that Assange conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new June indictment accuses Assange of recruiting hackers at conferences in Europe and Asia, recruiting a teenager to hack into the computer of a former WikiLeaks associate and conspiring with members of hacking groups known as LulzSec and Anonymous. U.S. prosecutors say the evidence underscores Assange’s efforts to procure and release classified information, allegations that form the basis of criminal charges.

Assange’s lawyers, however, argue that he is a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection and say the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing. Among the files released by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities — but also effectively a prisoner, unable to leave the tiny diplomatic mission in London. The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison as he awaits the extradition decision. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assange’s physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems and a serious shoulder ailment. The hearing is expected to include expert psychiatric evidence about his mental state.

Journalism organizations and human rights groups have urged Britain to refuse the extradition request. Amnesty International said Assange was “the target of a negative public campaign by U.S. officials at the highest levels.”

The extradition hearing opened in February but was put on hold when the U.K. went into lockdown in March to slow the spread of coronavirus. It is resuming with social distancing measures in court and video feeds so journalists and observers can watch remotely.

The case is due to run until early October. The judge is expected to take weeks or even months to consider her verdict, with the losing side likely to appeal.

UK judge upholds arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder

February 13, 2018

LONDON (AP) — A judge upheld a British arrest warrant for Julian Assange on Tuesday, saying the WikiLeaks founder should have the courage to come to court and face justice after more than five years inside Ecuador's London embassy.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected arguments by Assange's lawyers that it is no longer in the public interest to arrest him for jumping bail in 2012 and seeking shelter in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. Prosecutors there were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made by two women, which Assange has denied.

Arbuthnot did not mince words in her ruling at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court, saying that by jumping bail Assange had made "a determined attempt to avoid the order of the court." She said Assange appeared to be "a man who wants to impose his terms on the course of justice."

"He appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favor," the judge said, drawing exclamations of dismay from Assange supporters in the public gallery.

Assange can seek to appeal, though his lawyers did not immediately say whether he would. Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation last year, saying there was no prospect of bringing Assange to Sweden in the foreseeable future. But the British warrant for violating bail conditions still stands, and Assange faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.

Assange's lawyers had asked for the U.K warrant to be withdrawn since Sweden no longer wants him extradited, but the judge rejected their request last week. Assange's attorney had gone on to argue that arresting him is no longer proportionate or in the public interest. Lawyer Mark Summers argued the Australian was justified in seeking refuge in the embassy because he has a legitimate fear that U.S. authorities want to arrest him for WikiLeaks' publication of secret documents.

"I do not find that Mr. Assange's fears were reasonable," the judge said. "If the United States initiates extradition proceedings, Mr. Assange would have the ability to raise any bars to the extradition and challenge the proceedings" in a British court, she said.

Arbuthnot dismissed another plank of Assange's case — a report from a U.N. working group which said the 46-year-old was being arbitrarily detained. "I give little weight to the views of the working group," the judge said, noting that Assange had "restricted his own freedom for a number of years."

Assange's lawyer had argued that the 5½ years Assange has spent inside the embassy were "adequate, if not severe" punishment for his actions, noting that he had health problems including a frozen shoulder and depression.

The judge accepted that Assange had depression and other conditions, but said he was overall in "fairly good physical health." Arbuthnot also rejected an argument that Assange's actions had not stalled Sweden's legal case, because he had offered to be interviewed by Swedish prosecutors at the embassy.

Assange's legal team said emails recently released after a freedom of information request showed that a British state prosecutor had advised Sweden "that it would not be prudent for Sweden to try to interview Mr. Assange in the U.K."

The judge said she could not tell from the emails she had seen whether the lawyer who sent them had behaved inappropriately. But she said Assange's "failure to surrender has impeded the course of justice."

"Defendants on bail up and down the country, and requested persons facing extradition, come to court to face the consequences of their own choices," she said. "He should have the courage to do so too."

The ruling leaves the long legal impasse intact. Apart from the bail-jumping charge — for which the maximum sentence is one year in prison — Assange suspects there is a secret U.S. grand jury indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents, and that American authorities will seek his extradition.

Assange's lawyers say he is willing to face legal proceedings in Britain, but only if he receives a guarantee that he will not be sent to the U.S. to face prosecution. That is not an assurance Britain is likely to give.

Outside the courtroom, Assange lawyer Gareth Peirce gave little indication of what might come next in the twisting legal saga. "The history of the case from start to finish is extraordinary," she said. "Each aspect of it becomes puzzling and troubling as it is scrutinized."

Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story.

WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador to seek asylum

June 24, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.

The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum. "This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States."

The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden gave The Guardian and The Washington Post documents disclosing U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweep up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden had been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong. During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice spokesperson said.

A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case. The Justice Department said it would "pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow. Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council, said, "Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters — including returning numerous high-level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government — we expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

The Russian media report said Snowden intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela. U.S. lawmakers scoffed. "The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed remote. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.

Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.

"I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principal at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.

Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous. "You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information. "I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents. Ros-Lehtinen spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

Wiki-leaks Founder Still in Ecuadorian Embassy – One year later

SA Breaking News

London – It was a year ago today that founder of Wiki-leaks Julian Assange – facing questioning by Swedish authorities of allegations of sex crimes – skipped the country to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Assange is still refusing to leave. The man responsible for the leak of confidential government information is wanted in more than just Sweden.

The US has ordered the arrest of Assange for the publishing of among other things, 250 000 US state department cables, including sensitive information over US troop locations.

Assange has been fighting extradition charges for sexual assault on 2 Swedish women. He denies the charges, and many believe they are part of a conspiracy to get Assange extradited to the US.

The left leaning Ecuadorian government has said they will continue to assist Assange. As long as he remains within the embassy, which according to international law is seen as Ecuadorian soil, he remains out of reach of the British authorities. Police officers remain constantly stationed outside the embassy  in case he tries to slip out. According to the National Post the police cost of the “Assange operation” hit almost US$6 million at the end of May.

Assange remains in the public mind, with visits from celebrities including Lady Gaga and Vivienne Westwood. He does occasionally step out onto the embassy’s balcony to address pro-WikiLeaks demonstrators, but this is the only time he goes outside.

According to the National Post Assange has admitted that his embassy exile is taking a toll on his health.

Assange speaks from Ecuador embassy balcony, slams U.S. 'witch hunt'

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News
The Lookout
Sun, Aug 19, 2012

There was no arrest. No escape. No surrender. No assassination attempt. No human smuggling. No helicopter or hovercraft. Just a wanted man, on a balcony with a microphone.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange emerged from a window onto a small balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on Sunday, where he made his first public remarks since being granted asylum.

"I ask President Obama to do the right thing," Assange, who's been holed up in the embassy since June, said as he read a written statement. "The United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks. The Unites States must dissolve its FBI investigation. The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters."

A crowd of 200 gathered near the embassy to hear Assange speak as dozens of London police officers--who had created a wide barrier in front of the embassy--stood watch.

On Thursday, Ecuador's foreign minister announced that the country would grant asylum to Assange, defying threats by the British government to storm the Ecuadorean Embassy and extradite Assange to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning in cases of alleged rape and sexual molestation.

"We have decided to grant political asylum to him," Ricardo Patino said at the end of a long televised statement from the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, where he criticized the U.S. and U.K. governments for failing to protect Assange from political persecution.

"The sun came up on a different world," Assange said, "and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice."

On Sunday, Assange did not address the allegations of sexual crime, or when the diplomatic standoff between Sweden, Ecuador and the U.K. might end.

Assange also called for the release of Bradley Manning, the former U.S. army intelligence analyst accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks.

"If Bradley Manning did as he is accused, he is a hero and an example to all of us and one of the world's foremost political prisoners," Assange said.

Assange fears that if he were extradited to Sweden, he would immediately be extradited to the United States, which has condemned WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents. Assange and his supporters say the U.S. would charge him with espionage; the U.S. has not said whether or not it would pursue charges against him.

The foreign minister said that Ecuador asked Sweden to promise it would not extradite Assange to the United States, but Sweden refused.

It's unclear what will happen to Assange now. U.K. authorities say his asylum is a violation of his probation, and he'll be arrested if he tried to leave the embassy.

"We will not allow Mr. Assange safe passage out of the United Kingdom," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at a press conference last week. "Nor is there any legal basis for us to do so. The United Kingdom does not recognize the principle of diplomatic asylum."

On Sunday, Assange said that he heard police enter the embassy the night after he had been granted asylum. "Inside this embassy after dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through its internal fire escape," Assange said. "But I knew there would be witnesses."

In 2010, Swedish prosecutors in Stockholm issued warrants to question Assange about alleged sex crimes involving a pair of former WikiLeaks volunteers. Assange says the charges are part of an international smear campaign stemming from WikiLeaks' publication of diplomatic cables.

After a brief international manhunt, Assange turned himself in to London police in December 2010. He was granted bail and placed under house arrest. After Assange's appeals to fight his extradition to Sweden were denied, he fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy.

Ecuador grants asylum to WikiLeaks' Assange

August 16, 2012

LONDON (AP) — He's won asylum in Ecuador, but Julian Assange is no closer to getting there.

The decision by the South American nation to identify the WikiLeaks founder as a refugee is a symbolic boost for the embattled ex-hacker. But legal experts say that does little to help him avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations.

Instead, with British officials asserting they won't grant Assange safe passage out of the country, the case has done much to drag the two nations into an international faceoff. "We're at something of an impasse," lawyer Rebecca Niblock said. "It's not a question of law anymore. It's a question of politics and diplomacy."

The silver-haired Australian shot to international prominence in 2010 after he began publishing a huge trove of American diplomatic and military secrets — including a quarter million U.S. Embassy cables that shed a harsh light on the backroom dealings of U.S. diplomats. Amid the ferment, two Swedish women accused him of sexual assault; Assange has been fighting extradition to Sweden ever since.

Interpol, the Lyon, France-based international police agency, issued a statement late Thursday saying Assange remains on the equivalent of its most-wanted list, the Ecuadorian decision notwithstanding.

The convoluted saga took its latest twist on Thursday, when Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced that he had granted asylum to Assange, who has been holed up inside the small, coastal nation's embassy since June 19. He said Ecuador was taking action because Assange faces a serious threat of unjust prosecution at the hands of U.S. officials.

That was a nod to the fears expressed by Assange and others that the Swedish sex case is merely the opening gambit in a Washington-orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the United States — something disputed by both Swedish authorities and the women involved.

In a message posted to its Twitter account, WikiLeaks said Assange would make a public statement outside Ecuador's embassy on Sunday afternoon — potentially offering British police the chance to arrest him. The secret-spilling website did not immediately respond to attempts to contact it to provide additional details.

Patino said he tried to secure guarantees from the Americans, the British and the Swedes that Assange would not be extradited to the United States, but was rebuffed by all three. If Assange were extradited to the U.S. "he would not have a fair trial, could be judged by special or military courts, and it's not implausible that cruel and degrading treatment could be applied, that he could be condemned to life in prison, or the death penalty," Patino said.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she did not accept Assange's claim, or Ecuador's acceptance of it, that he could potentially face persecution in the United States. "With regard to the charge that the U.S. was intent on persecuting him, I reject that completely," she said Thursday.

Under Ecuador's asylum offer, Assange is not permitted to make political statements or grant interviews of a political nature, restrictions that are standard for anyone granted asylum, said an Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name.

Significantly, Ecuador did not grant political but rather diplomatic asylum to Assange. "Political asylum would imply that Great Britain is persecuting him or threatens to persecute him," said Robert Sloane, international law professor at Boston University. By granting diplomatic asylum, Ecuador is keeping the door open to political negotiations. Sloane said that the type of asylum does not confer any diplomatic status or special privileges on Assange.

Ecuador's decision was warmly received by the 41-year-old Assange, who watched the foreign minister announce it from Quito in a live televised news conference. In a statement he praised Ecuador's "courage."

Pro-Assange demonstrators gathered outside the Edwardian-era embassy building, and broke into cheers when the news filtered out onto the street. "It must have been a tough decision for Ecuador because they had pressure," said Alejandra Cazas, an 18-year-old British-Bolivian citizen. "Now they have to watch out that he arrives to Ecuador safely."

But British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain will not allow Assange safe passage to Latin America. "There is no legal basis for us to do so," he said. He said Assange was wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of "serious sexual offenses" and that the extradition had nothing to do with the work of WikiLeaks or with the United States.

Hague also insisted that Britain did not recognize the concept of diplomatic asylum, which he said was not a universal means of granting refuge. Britain's response to Ecuador's offer prompted Peru, the acting chair of the Union of South American Nations, to call an extraordinary meeting for Sunday at Ecuador's request in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to discuss the Assange standoff.

Supporters who have visited Assange say he is living inside a tiny office at Ecuador's embassy, a small apartment of five or six rooms inside a larger building which also houses Colombia's embassy. Assange has a bed, access to a phone and a connection to the Internet. "It's not quite the Hilton," said Gavin MacFadyen, a supporter who has met with Assange at the embassy.

The diplomatic repercussions continued Thursday with an unlikely confrontation between Sweden and Ecuador. In a mark of its anger over the asylum ruling, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Ecuador's ambassador to complain about the decision. The country's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, said in a message posted on Twitter that "our firm legal and constitutional system guarantees the rights of each and every one. We firmly reject any accusations to the contrary."

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa did not seem to be in any mood for compromise either, posting a tweet that read: "No one is going to frighten us." In Washington, Ecuador asked the Organization of American States to hold a meeting Aug. 23 to discuss the Assange situation. Several nations on the OAS's Permanent Council supported the idea, while the U.S. and Canada opposed it. The council put off a decision until Friday so delegates could consult with their home governments.

The issue already seems to have frayed diplomatic ties between the U.K. and Ecuador. Britain's previous ambassador to Ecuador, Linda Cross, departed earlier this year and had been due to be replaced this month by Patrick Mullee. But his arrival has been delayed.

Ties could fray further if Britain decides to enforce a little-known 1987 law that gives the U.K. the right to enter the embassy to arrest Assange — but most legal experts called such a development unlikely and potentially dangerous.

If Britain carried out such a move, as it suggested it might in a note delivered to Ecuador on Wednesday, "it would threaten their embassy premises around the world," as it could leave them open to reprisals, said Niblock, who practices at London law firm Kingsley Napley.

Many Britons have memories of a dramatic scene in 1980 when British special forces soldiers burst into the Iranian Embassy — at Iran's request — to free hostages captured by gunmen who had broken into the building six days earlier.

Hague insisted Britain had no plan to force entry into Ecuador's mission. "There is no threat here to storm an embassy," he told reporters. Meanwhile, legal experts and diplomatic historians were abuzz with various unlikely scenarios for Assange's escape from Britain — perhaps hidden in a diplomatic car or smuggled in an oversized diplomatic bag.

Some have speculated Britain could revoke the diplomatic status of Ecuador's embassy — a move which would effectively sever friendly links between the two nations, but allow police to walk inside and arrest Assange.

Britain's foreign ministry said diplomats would continue discussions with Ecuador aimed at resolving the case, but Hague warned that he expected the diplomatic stalemate to continue. "This could go on for quite a considerable time as things stand," he told reporters. "There is no time limit for resolving this."

Solano reported from Quito, Ecuador. Associated Press writers Frank Bajak in Lima, Peru, Jill Lawless, David Stringer and Raissa Ioussouf in London, Louise Nordstrom and Karl Ritter in Stockholm, and Matthew Lee in Washington all contributed to this report.

WikiLeaks founder seeks asylum at Ecuador embassy

June 20, 2012

LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange has made a run for the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, seeking asylum in a long shot move that, if successful, would place him in a small, friendly South American country rather than in Sweden facing questioning about alleged sex crimes.

Tuesday's unexpected caper has added a new and bizarre twist to Assange's increasingly desperate bid to avoid extradition to Scandinavia. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the leftist government of President Rafael Correa — an administration often at odds with Washington — was weighing the request, although he did not indicate when a decision might be made.

Assange said in a brief statement that he was grateful "to the Ecuadorean ambassador and the government of Ecuador for considering my application." Assange's legal options in the U.K. had almost completely run out. Less than a week ago Britain's Supreme Court re-endorsed its decision to allow the 40-year-old's extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted over sex crimes allegations. The accusations — which stem from Assange's trip to the country in mid-2010 — have cast a cloud over his online organization's spectacular leaks of U.S. military, diplomatic, and intelligence material.

Ecuador — where less than one in three people have access to the Web — may seem an unlikely place for the former computer hacker to seek refuge, but in many ways it's an obvious choice. "It's one of the few countries that has given a great opening to Assange's entire cause," said Grace Jaramillo, an international relations professor at Ecuador's FLACSO university.

"Correa sees Assange as a critic of the status quo," he said. "He has been challenging the United States and Correa likes that." Assange argues that extradition to Sweden is a first step in efforts to remove him to the United States, where he claims to have been secretly indicted over his disclosure of 250,000 State Department cables. He has spent the better part of two years fighting the move through the British courts.

But legal experts said Assange's flight to the Ecuadorean embassy was a desperate one. U.K. extradition specialist Karen Todner said she couldn't make sense of the move, while Michael Scharf, based at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, said he didn't believe Assange could be given asylum status.

"I think they are going to end up asking him to leave the premises," said Scharf. Ecuador's mission in London said in a statement that Assange would "remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorean government," while his application was considered. Britain's foreign ministry said it was working with Ecuadorean authorities to resolve the situation, but gave few other details.

Aside from Assange's brief statement, WikiLeaks did not elaborate on its leader's plans. Nearly a dozen calls, texts and emails seeking further comment from WikiLeaks and its staff weren't returned. Patino, speaking at a news conference in Quito, the Ecuadorean capital, gave the fullest account of Assange's reasoning, saying he had personally written to Correa to ask for asylum.

Assange, who is Australian, had argued that "the authorities in his country will not defend his minimum guarantees before any government or ignore the obligation to protect a politically persecuted citizen." Patino said. That may be a reference to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who last month said that her country could not protect Assange from other countries' justice systems.

Ecuador has made friendly noises about Assange in the past. In the November 2010, at the height of the media storm over WikiLeaks' disclosures, its government appeared to offer him sanctuary, and on Assange's newly-launched television talk show — which interviewed Correa via videolink earlier this year — the pair swapped jokes and messages of encouragement.

It was during the interview that Assange received an offer of asylum, according to a woman who was present during the shows and familiar with the offer. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.

It was not immediately clear if the offer came directly from the president himself, although at one point Correa saluted WikiLeaks and told Assange to take courage. "Welcome to the club of those who are persecuted!" said Correa, whose government has been assailed by human rights and press freedom activists for using Ecuador's criminal libel law in sympathetic courts against journalists from the country's biggest newspaper, El Universo.

Assange and his allies had been in discussions over a possible attempt to seek sanctuary in Ecuador since last weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter. "His concern was that once he arrived in Sweden he would be held in custody and would not have a chance to seek sanctuary again," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

The person claimed that Assange had explained his reasons for seeking sanctuary to those who put up bail, but Jemima Khan, a celebrity journalist who supports Assange, said she was caught off guard by the news.

"I had expected him to face the allegations," she said in a message posted to Twitter. "I am as surprised as anyone by this." It wasn't immediately clear whether the escape to the Ecuadorean Embassy would invalidate Assange's strict bail conditions, or whether the 200,000 pounds (roughly $315,000) put up by his supporters would be forfeited.

British officials declined to say whether Assange had skipped bail or whether they were now seeking his arrest. Assange will be free from U.K. authorities so long as he remains at the Ecuadorean Embassy, but it's unclear how he could hope to get from the mission, based in London's wealthy Knightsbridge neighborhood, to Ecuador itself.

The embassy's buzzer rang unanswered Tuesday, although several times an unidentified figure peeked out from behind the curtain to look at reporters clustered around the building's entrance. At one point two men emerged from the building; neither addressed the assembled media, but one bore a folio entitled "Diplomatic Law."

Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer representing the two Swedish women with claims against Assange, told Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter late Tuesday that Assange's latest move was a delaying tactic. "It's tragic for the two clients that I represent," he was quoted as saying. "I can't imagine that this will lead anywhere."

Solano reported from Quito, Ecuador. Associated Press writers Frank Bajak in Lima, Peru, Paisley Dodds in London, and Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm, Sweden, contributed to this report.

WikiLeaks says hit with cyberattack

San Francisco (AFP)
Aug 30, 2011

Controversial anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks said Tuesday it was fending off a cyberattack after being lambasted for releasing more supposedly confidential US diplomatic cables.

"WikiLeaks.org is presently under cyberattack," the organization said in a terse message on microblogging service Twitter.

The message provided a link to a cablegatesearch.net website where digital copies of the political documents could be viewed.

The online assault came hours after US officials voiced renewed concern over the risks to individuals after WikiLeaks made public more US diplomatic cables, many of which contained the names of sensitive sources.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland would not confirm the authenticity of the latest documents, but said "the United States strongly condemns any illegal disclosure of classified information.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/WikiLeaks_says_hit_with_cyberattack_999.html.

Wikileaks Cable Shows Grim Truth of Air Pollution in China's South

By Shannon Liao
August 27, 2011

Southern Chinese know the health hazards of their environment—they just have to look up and see the brown haze obscuring the Pearl River Delta, an urban hub of cities in Guangdong, China.

But nothing makes Chinese air pollution more evident to the outside world than a Wikileaks cable, prepared by diplomats in the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou in 2006 and released Aug. 26, providing candid statements from Chinese communist officials and foreign officials that prove the point.

One-third of China’s urban inhabitants live in cities with harmful air pollution or even very dangerous pollution, says Wang Jinnan, the chief engineer at the Chinese Academy on Environmental Planning, part of the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), according to the Wikileaks cable.

Air quality is getting worse, especially in major cities, leading to more and more serious health problems, said the vice minister of SEPA, Zhang Lijun, according to the cable.

Officials have also said that air pollution’s financial cost is large and growing.

Zhu Guangyao, deputy chief of the SEPA said that the damage to China’s environment costs about ten percent of China’s yearly GDP. Ten percent was about $200 billion in 2006, at the time Zhu made the statement, but would be $500 billion in 2011.

By 2030, 15 percent of China’s GDP will be lost due to health costs and causalities from air pollution, says a Harvard scholar, according to the cable.

In the report, a Yale scholar estimated more than half of China’s yearly GDP growth would be wiped out due to air pollution.

The cable elaborated other facts that brought to light the pervasiveness of pollution in the south.

For example, when scientists finally started measuring the pollutants in south China, their findings alarmed the world--but the pollutant with the most impact on public health was not even measured. The levels of fine particulate (PM2.5) pollution are suspected to be so high that they would create political difficulties if revealed.

Heavy industry and residential coal burning fuels 70 percent of China’s energy. Air pollution is also caused by inadequate pollution controls, deforestation, and a sharp increase in the number of motor vehicles.

According to the report, in the next 15 years, Chinese pollution discharges may increase four or five times if reforms aren’t made.

“Air pollution in south China is bad and getting worse, mirroring conditions in many other regions in China,” the cable said.

“It is a sad irony that this region of China—seen as a beacon for poor migrants who want to find fame and fortune—has actually become harmful to those migrants’ and others’ health.”

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/wikileaks-cable-shows-grim-truth-of-air-pollution-in-chinas-south-60838.html.

Bahrain parliamentarians demand treason charges after WikiLeaks

May 29, 2011

Cairo - Sunni Salafist parliamentarians in Bharain Sunday called on the authorities to prosecute their former Shiite lawmaker colleagues for treason, in the wake of WikiLeaks documents suggesting the al-Wefaq opposition group met US embassy officials in Manama.

In a statement the al-Asalah Islamic Society, which represents Salafists, called al-Wefaq - which held almost half of the 40-seat assembly - a 'poisoned dagger' threatening national security on the Gulf island in the wake of the leaked US diplomatic cables.

Al-Wefaq, the country's leading Shiite opposition grouping, resigned its parliamentary posts in February in protest over the lethal security crackdown against pro-reform protesters in the capital Manama on February 14th.

According to al-Asalah, the cables reveal high-level cooperation between al-Wefaq, which is also accused of having links to Iran, and the Americans.

'Such meetings reveal that al-Wefaq is not a typical political opposition grouping but a sectarian one that jumps in the lap of the Americans and has a clandestine agenda to betray the country,' the statement said.

'The meetings also prove that al-Wefaq is not just an agent for the Iranian agenda in the country but also the American one'.

The Salafist grouping claim that such meetings reveal the extent of the foreign 'conspiracy' against Bahrain by powers such as the US, Britain and Iran, among others.

At least 30 people have been killed during government crackdowns on protesters, which included the use of live ammunition, activists say.

Four policemen were also killed, according to the Interior Ministry.

Hundreds of people had been arrested, and more than 1,500 were sacked from their jobs - including medical staff, educators, other professionals and students - for taking part in the anti-government rallies.

In the wake of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, protests demanding political reform and greater freedoms in Sunni-ruled, Shi'ite majority Bahrain began on February 14.

Bahrain, which is the home of the US Navy 5th Fleet, and other Sunni-ruled countries in the region have accused Shi'ite-led Iran of meddling in the country's internal affairs.

Violence escalated in March, when Gulf troops were deployed to the small island kingdom and a state of emergency was declared to help quell the unrest.

The state of emergency, which is set to be lifted on June 1, bans all public gatherings and allows for arbitrary arrests and the trial of civilians in military courts.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1642251.php/Bahrain-parliamentarians-demand-treason-charges-after-WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks: Hariri proposed new Syria regime

Leaked diplomatic cables allege that Saad Al-Hariri suggested isolating Bashar Al-Assad and forming a coalition of Muslim Brotherhood and former regime figures to take power.

Ahram Online, Saturday 16 Apr 2011

A WikiLeaks document published by a Lebanese daily claims that former prime minister and head of the Future Movement Saad Al-Hariri called for the isolation of the Syrian regime in 2006.

Hariri reportedly suggested replacing Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad with a coalition that included the Muslim Brotherhood and several individuals that were once part of the regime.

Hizbullah-friendly Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar published the leaked documents the day Syrian authorities accused "Lebanese forces." including a Future Movement MP, of supplying a "terrorist group" with arms and funds to incite them to overthrow the regime.

Syria has been struggling with unprecedented pro-reform protests for the past month.

According to the leaked diplomatic cable, Hariri, who was not yet in office at the time, met on 24 August 2006 with US officials and urged for the isolation of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad warning of unrest in Lebanon following a speech in which Al-Assad threatened a civil war in Lebanon, Al-Akhbar wrote.

The leaked document added that with regards to who would fill the void left in Damascus should the regime fall, Hariri suggested a coalition between the Muslim Brotherhood and some figures that were once part of the regime.

Former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam and former army Chief of Staff Hekmat Al-Shehaby were among the figures.

Hariri and the 14 March Alliance had accused Syria of orchestrating former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri’s assassination on 14 February 2005 in Beirut. The car bombing that claimed Hariri’s life also killed 22 others and was followed by a series of assassinations of prominent Lebanese anti-Syria figures.

The Syrian army withdrew from Lebanon in April 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination following three decades of occupation. After Syria’s withdrawal, Hariri was elected to parliament heading a new majority.

Source: Ahram.
Link: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/10122.aspx.

Japan building foreign spy service: WikiLeaks

February 21, 2011

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan is setting up its first fully-fledged post-war foreign spy service, modeled on the CIA and Britain's MI6, according to a classified US cable obtained by WikiLeaks, a report said Monday.

The new intelligence service aims to spy on China and North Korea and to gather information to prevent terrorist attacks, said Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, citing a US cable WikiLeaks exclusively provided to the daily.

The espionage unit is being created under the wing of Japan's top intelligence agency, the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (Naicho), which reports to the prime minister, the Herald said.

Then-Naicho director Hideshi Mitani revealed in 2008 that a "human intelligence collection capability" was a priority, in talks with then head of the US State Department's bureau of intelligence and research, Randall Fort.

Two former Japanese prime ministers of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, Yasuo Fukuda and Taro Aso, had kicked off the project, according to a secret cable to Washington from the US embassy in Tokyo.

"The decision has been made to go very slowly with this process as the Japanese realize that they lack knowledge, experience, and assets/officers," the US embassy cable said, according to the Herald.

"A training process for new personnel will be started soon."

Japanese officials had told Fort that Japan's most pressing intelligence priorities were "China and North Korea, as well as on collecting intelligence information to prevent terrorist attacks".

Fort had urged Japanese officials to tap "underutilized assets" in the worldwide network of Japanese businesses and trading companies.

An expert on intelligence issues in Japan, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Japan does not yet have an operational "human intelligence branch".

Japan does not seek to recruit foreign nationals as agents or informants, the expert said, instead relying on Japanese businessmen and journalists abroad to gather intelligence, paying them out of "secret funds" controlled by the foreign ministry and cabinet office.

Assange to be extradited to Sweden

Fri Feb 25, 2011

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be extradited to Sweden to respond to accusations of rape and sexual assault, a UK judge has ruled.

Assange must now appear in a Swedish court to face the charges.

He was arrested in Britain in December 2010 and had made serious legal efforts to fight extradition to Sweden.

District Judge Howard Riddle said at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south London on Thursday that the extradition would not violate Mr. Assange's human rights.

Assange dismissed the three charges of rape and sexual assault, saying the accusations were “politically motivated” since WikiLeaks has published information on some very sensitive political issues.

The WikiLeaks founder also said that the extradition ruling was the result of a "European arrest warrant system run amok.”

He stated, "What we saw today at Belmarsh was a rubber-stamping process. It comes as no surprise, but is nonetheless wrong. There was no consideration during this entire process as to the merits of the allegations made against me, no consideration or examination of even the complaints made in Sweden."

"We have always known that in all likelihood we would have to appeal," he added.

Judge Riddle rejected the assertion of Assange's lawyer that he would not face a fair trial in Sweden since Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had previously said that Julian Assange is "public enemy number one" in Sweden.

"The defense refers to the alleged denigration of the defendant by the Swedish prime minister. For this reason and other reasons it is said Mr. Assange will not receive a fair trial. I don't accept this was the purpose of the comment or the effect," the judge said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167054.html.

WikiLeaks: West fears of possible Islamization of Turkish armed forces

9 February 2011

Anti-Islamic forces in Turkey are concerned about their problem of "how insidiously and cunningly Erdogan's government has slipped Islamic fundamentalists into various ministries". We would like to mention in this context that the term "Islamic fundamentalist" here means a person who makes prayers, i.e., prays regularly.

The U.S. State Department secret cables published by WikiLeaks show, in particular, the concern of the British government in connection with the internal situation in Turkey.

The Brits' contacts also said the Turkish military feared they would be targeted next by the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government, a 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable published by the Daily Telegraph indicates.

"If this were to occur, the British government believes the military would face an internal power struggle with unknown consequences for NATO and the [European Union], but it would almost definitely lead to a hard-line position on Cyprus," wrote an American diplomat in Ankara.

According to the cable, British officials were tired of "hitting their heads against the brick wall" of Turkey's refusal to separate the Cypriot question from Turkey's NATO role.

"The U.K. government is very concerned that the Turkish military is not as confident as it used to be, the threat from the fundamentalists is sparking self-doubt within the military, and the fallout from the Ergenekon investigations have tainted the military's reputation".

The only lever of influence on Turkey, the British believe, is the United States, wrote an American diplomat, but "devoid of the traditional self-confidence and weakened the latest trends, the Turkish army may not be able to respond positively to American influence."

The cable said the U.K. government believed the U.S. government was the only power that possessed sufficient leverage with Turkey, but, "without its traditional confidence, and weakened by both of these related developments, the Turkish military's ability to respond positively to the U.S. government leverage is weakened"

It is to be mentioned in this context that Turkey has always been under a special control of the Western alliance, because the historical experience of the Ottoman Islamic Caliphate that existed for 600 years, is capable, according to the experts, to awaken Muslims to revive any time their lost Islamic state.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/02/09/13507.shtml.

Assange lawyer: Risk of 'denial of justice'

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON – The lawyer for Julian Assange argued Monday the embattled WikiLeaks founder would face a secret trial that violates international standards of fairness if sent to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

The leader of the secret-spilling website is fighting extradition in part because Swedish rape trials are customarily held in secret, Geoffrey Robertson said at the start of a two-day extradition hearing. Closed-door hearings would be "a flagrant denial of justice ... blatantly unfair, not only by British standards but by European standards and indeed by international standards," he said.

The British lawyer representing Sweden, Clare Montgomery, countered that Swedish trials were based on the principle that everyone deserves "a fair and public hearing." She said that in cases where evidence is heard in private it will often be published after the trial and recited in the judgment.

Assange is accused of sexual misconduct by two women he met during a visit to Stockholm last year. Rape trials are often held behind closed doors in Sweden to protect the alleged victims.

He denies wrongdoing. Defense lawyers also argue he should not be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime, because of flaws in Swedish prosecutors' case — and because a ticket to Sweden could eventually land him in Guantanamo Bay or on U.S. death row.

Montgomery, opened by dismissing several key planks of the defense. She said Marianne Ny, the Swedish prosecutor who is seeking Assange's extradition, did have the power to request the European Arrest Warrant, dismissing defense claims that she is not authorized to do so.

She said the rape allegation was an extraditable offense even under Sweden's broad definition of the crime. Assange's lawyers say he cannot be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime in Sweden and is only wanted for questioning — and that the allegation is not rape as understood under European and English law.

Robertson said Assange faces an allegation known in Swedish as "minor rape."

"That is a contradiction in terms," he said. "Rape is not a minor offense." He said Assange had had consensual sex with his two accusers.

Montgomery contested this, saying "the Swedish offense of rape contains the core element of rape ... the deliberate violation of a woman's sexual integrity through penetration."

American officials are trying to build a criminal case against WikiLeaks, which has angered Washington by publishing a trove of leaked diplomatic cables and secret U.S. military files. Assange's lawyers claim the Swedish prosecution is linked to the leaks and politically motivated.

Preliminary defense arguments released by Assange's legal team claim "there is a real risk that, if extradited to Sweden, the U.S. will seek his extradition and/or illegal rendition to the USA, where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere."

Many legal experts say the Guantanamo claims are fanciful, and Sweden strongly denies coming under American pressure.

Nils Rekke, head of the legal department at the Swedish prosecutor's office in Stockholm, has said Assange would be protected from transfer to the U.S. by strict European rules.

"If Assange was handed over to Sweden in accordance with the European Arrest Warrant, Sweden cannot do as Sweden likes after that," he said. "If there were any questions of an extradition approach from the U.S., then Sweden would have to get an approval from the United Kingdom."

Assange, wearing a blue suit, was flanked by prison guards as the hearing opened at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court. Celebrity supporters including Jemima Khan and Bianca Jagger also attended.

WikiLeaks sparked an international uproar last year when it published a secret helicopter video showing a U.S. attack that killed two Reuters journalists in Baghdad. It went on to release hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it later began publishing classified U.S. diplomatic cables whose revelations angered and embarrassed the U.S. and its allies.

The furor made Assange, 39, a global celebrity. The nomadic Australian was arrested in London in December after Sweden issued a warrant on rape and molestation accusations.

Released on bail on condition he live — under curfew and electronically tagged — at a supporter's country mansion in eastern England, Assange has managed to conduct multiple media interviews, sign a reported $1.5 million deal for a memoir, and pose for a magazine Christmas photo shoot dressed as Santa Claus.

The extradition case revolves around the contested events of Assange's trip to Sweden in August. Two Swedish women say they met Assange when he visited the country and separately had sex with him, initially by consent.

In police documents leaked on the Internet, one of the women told officers she woke up as Assange was having sex with her, but let him continue even though she knew he wasn't wearing a condom. Having sex with a sleeping person can be considered rape in Sweden.

Assange is also accused of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion against the second woman. The leaked documents show she accuses him of deliberately damaging a condom during consensual sex, which he denies.

Robertson denied Assange had committed any sexual offenses under English law. He said all relationships, long or short, contain "moments of frustration, irritation and argument. This doesn't mean, in this country, that the police are entitled to sniff under the bedclothes."

Assange's lawyers also complain they have not been given access to text messages and tweets by the two women which allegedly undermine their claims. They say text messages exchanged by the claimants "speak of revenge and of the opportunity to make lots of money."

The extradition hearing is due to end Tuesday, but Judge Howard Riddle could take several weeks to consider his ruling — which can be appealed by either side.

WikiLeaks nominated for 2011 Nobel Peace Prize

Wed, 02 Feb 2011

Oslo - Whistle-blower site WikiLeaks has been nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian politician who cited its role in freedom of speech, news agency NTB reported Wednesday.

"WikiLeaks is one of this century's most important contributors to freedom of speech and transparency," parliamentarian Snorre Valen said in his nomination.

Valen cited WikiLeaks role in disclosing the assets of Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his nearest family, contributing to the protests that forced them into exile.

The member of parliament for the Socialist Left Party, part of Norway's ruling red-green coalition, also noted WikiLeaks publication of documents relating to corruption by authorities, governments and corporations as well as "illegal surveillance, war crimes and torture committed by a number of states."

The five-member Nobel Committee advises those making nominations not to reveal their proposals in advance.

However, there are no formal rules against doing so, allowing for plenty of speculation before the winner is announced, normally in early October.

The 2010 prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who was unable to collect his award.

Parliamentarians, academics, former peace prize laureates as well as current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee are among those who have the right to nominate candidates for the coveted award.

The Peace Prize is one of several prizes endowed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/365449,2011-nobel-peace-prize.html.

Leaked cables: Sweden raised Iraqi refugee flow with US officials

Fri, 21 Jan 2011

Stockholm - Two Swedish cabinet members raised concerns over the flow of refugees from Iraq in 2007 during talks with US officials, a Swedish daily said Friday, citing leaked US diplomatic cables.

While Sweden was prepared to receive asylum seekers there was need for "a return agreement" with Iraq for refugees whose applications were rejected the ministers said, according to US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blower site WikiLeaks and quoted by the daily Svenska Dagbladet.

During a September 2007 visit to Iraq, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Tobias Billstrom, minister for migration and asylum policy, met with Iraqi officials and US embassy officials in Baghdad.

According to the US cable, Bildt and Billstrom mentioned concerns that many arrivals after 2003 were "more difficult to assimilate."

Contributing factors were that the asylum seekers were destitute, and often had poor education or lacked language or professional skills.

Iraq and Sweden in early 2008 agreed on a repatriation agreement stipulating that Iraqis whose applications were rejected should voluntarily be sent back to Iraq. Baghdad would guarantee their security.

Sweden in 2007 expected some 20,000 asylum seekers from Iraq and about three in four applications were likely to be approved, Bildt said according to the US cable.

In 2007 there were some 100,000 Iraqis in Sweden, a country of 9 million.

Bildt and Billstrom have declined to comment on the remarks attributed to them.

However, Bodil Ceballos of the opposition Greens said she would request parliament's Committee on the Constitution to summon them.

"Our government has talked a lot about human rights, but this violates them," Ceballos told broadcaster TV4, adding that asylum applications were individual and not based on whether it was easy to assimilate someone.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/363485,refugee-flow-us-officials.html.

Ex-banker says he's giving Wikileaks files on rich

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press – Mon Jan 17

LONDON – A former Swiss banker on Monday supplied documents to WikiLeaks that he alleges detail attempts by wealthy business leaders and lawmakers to evade tax payments.

Rudolf Elmer, an ex-employee of Swiss-based Bank Julius Baer, said there were 2,000 account holders named in the documents, but refused to give details of the companies or individuals involved.

He has previously offered files to WikiLeaks on financial activities in the Cayman Islands and faces a court hearing in Zurich on Wednesday to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws.

"I do think as a banker I have the right to stand up if something is wrong," said Elmer, who addressed reporters at London's Frontline Club alongside WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"I am against the system. I know how the system works and I know the day-to-day business. From that point of view, I wanted to let society know what I know. It is damaging our society," Elmer said.

Assange praised the ex-banker's attempts to expose alleged shady practices in the financial industry. He was making a rare public appearance since he was released on bail on Dec. 16 following his arrest on a Swedish extradition warrant.

Elmer claims his previous disclosures showed evidence of major tax avoidance in the Caribbean.

However, Assange said that with WikiLeaks focussed on other issues — such as the publication of its cache of about 250,000 diplomatic cables, it could be several weeks before Elmer's latest files are reviewed and posted on the organization's website.

The organization has so far posted about 2,444 cables to the Internet since it began publishing the documents in November.

Assange said that, as with other WikiLeaks releases, media organizations — he named the Financial Times and Bloomberg as possible candidates — could be given the information ahead of time.

He said that the files, or parts of the files, may also be provided to British government fraud investigators to examine for any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

"We will treat this information like all other information we get," Assange said. "There will be a full revelation."

The Julius Baer bank said it was aware of Elmer's decision to pass a new set of files to WikiLeaks.

"He didn't attack us at this press conference, he explicitly targeted not us but 'the system,'" the bank's spokesman Jan Vonder Muehll said.

Britain's tax authority declined to comment when asked about Assange's plan to supply details of alleged wrongdoing.

Under the terms of his release on bail, Assange must live at the mansion home of Vaughan Smith, the owner of the Frontline Club. He has compared the regime to "high-tech house arrest," but has recently promised that the flow of leaked documents published by his organization would increase.
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Frank Jordans in Geneva contributed to this report.