Julian Assange loses extradition appeal at Supreme Court

[Axionknight]

They were certainly there at the turn of the year and I see no reason as to why they would have left, so I'm guessing so.

Tis' a farce.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/05/assange-police-...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/...

[Borghetto]

What's the betting Uncle Sam makes an extradition request just before the Swedish statute of limitations runs out. Super Max will have a nice room waiting for him.

[NicD]

Charges dropped as out of time, now lets ASAP expel the stbag as an undesirable alien and stop wasting huge amounts on staking out the Embassy

[KFC]

It seems bizarre that you can deliberately go on the run to avoid being questioned, and the statute of limitations still expires anyway. I don't see how that can reasonably be seen as justice being applied.

[jogon]

KFC said:

It seems bizarre that you can deliberately go on the run to avoid being questioned, and the statute of limitations still expires anyway. I don't see how that can reasonably be seen as justice being applied.

Im surprised he didn't convert to Islam while in the Embassy as it seems you can get away with a lot worse than forgetting to wear a condom in Sweden if your follower of the religion of peace.

[rohrl]

NicD said:

Charges dropped as out of time, now lets ASAP expel the stbag as an undesirable alien and stop wasting huge amounts on staking out the Embassy

Can the UK government expel him if he stays inside the embassy?

[Halb]

rohrl said:

NicD said:

Charges dropped as out of time, now lets ASAP expel the stbag as an undesirable alien and stop wasting huge amounts on staking out the Embassy

Can the UK government expel him if he stays inside the embassy?

If the charges have expired, then there is no need to waste more money on it, so it's a winner regardless.

[anonymous-user]

It is a popular misconception that an embassy forms part of the Sovereign territory of the State that it represents. This is not the case. The Ecuadorian Embassy is part of the UK. By diplomatic convention, however, the police of the host State do not enter an embassy unless invited to do so by the State that the embassy represents. There would be a big kerfuffle if the police just stomped in and grabbed the horrid little Scrote, and this might upset apple carts in many embassies all over the place.

See also the misconception that US air bases in the UK are part of the USA. No they aren't. Note that RAF Lakenheath is still called RAF Lakenheath and not USAF Lakenheath, even though it is the USAF that is based there.

The UK still has Sovereign base areas in Cyprus, IIRC, but they are a historical hangover that still have some strategic value.

[Borghetto]

NicD said:

Charges dropped as out of time, now lets ASAP expel the stbag as an undesirable alien and stop wasting huge amounts on staking out the Embassy

e

The statute of limitations in Sweden is 5 years for the sexual assault and 10 years for the rape. So if we can't get the Ecuadorians to throw him out, this pantomime will continue for another 5 years.

[eharding]

Breadvan72 said:

It is a popular misconception that an embassy forms part of the Sovereign territory of the State that it represents. This is not the case. The Ecuadorian Embassy is part of the UK. By diplomatic convention, however, the police of the host State do not enter an embassy unless invited to do so by the State that the embassy represents. There would be a big kerfuffle if the police just stomped in and grabbed the horrid little Scrote, and this might upset apple carts in many embassies all over the place.

See also the misconception that US air bases in the UK are part of the USA. No they aren't. Note that RAF Lakenheath is still called RAF Lakenheath and not USAF Lakenheath, even though it is the USAF that is based there.

The UK still has Sovereign base areas in Cyprus, IIRC, but they are a historical hangover that still have some strategic value.

The UK authorities know which room of the Ecuadorian Embassy Assange is living in though, don't they? Wasn't he pictured leaning out of the window, giving interviews to journos on the pavement below?

What does diplomatic convention have to say about the practice of wheeling a great big sod-off gigawatt speaker system right up to his window, and repeatedly playing...oh...I don't know..."Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman (Mutha Chuffa)" by the Darkness, turned all the way up to 11, every night between the hours of 1AM and 5AM?

Give it a week, and I reckon he'll present himself at the gates of the American Embassy, carrying a towel and a six-pack of 1L Perrier bottles and offering to water-board himself, as long as they promise to take him away from London.

[BlackLabel]

telegraph said:

The embassy in London where Julian Assange has chosen to remain for more than three years considered getting rid of their long-term guest by helping him flee in fancy dress, it has emerged.

Leaked documents showed Ecuadorian diplomats were becoming increasingly concerned about Mr Assange’s behaviour and drew up a number of bizarre plans to allow him to leave the building without being arrested by waiting police officers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11836843/Julian-Assange-Fancy-dress-plan-to-escape-embassy.html

[Beati Dogu]

eharding said:

The UK authorities know which room of the Ecuadorian Embassy Assange is living in though, don't they? Wasn't he pictured leaning out of the window, giving interviews to journos on the pavement below?

What does diplomatic convention have to say about the practice of wheeling a great big sod-off gigawatt speaker system right up to his window, and repeatedly playing...oh...I don't know..."Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman (Mutha Chuffa)" by the Darkness, turned all the way up to 11, every night between the hours of 1AM and 5AM?

Give it a week, and I reckon he'll present himself at the gates of the American Embassy, carrying a towel and a six-pack of 1L Perrier bottles and offering to water-board himself, as long as they promise to take him away from London.

He sleeps in a converted women's toilet at the embassy now. The early morning delivery vans to neighbouring Harrods were keeping the poor darling awake it seems.

[scherzkeks]

Murph7355 said:

On the conspiracy theories, wouldn't it be for more straightforward for the US to collude with Ecuador than the UK and Sweden?

No, because Correra is no friend of the US. Years of targeted government destabilisation in Latin America has a way of resulting in this sort of thing.

[AJS-]

The conspiracy theories are a bit strange. I don't see the advantage of taking him to Sweden as compared to direct extradition from the UK, but I'm not a US government spook. My best guess would be that it's playing for time and altering the publicity. It will be a lot easier to extradite a suspected rapist who was hiding out in the Ecuadorian embassy for years on end than it would have been to extradite a poster boy for civil liberties and freedom of information in 2012.

The idea that these women simply remembered that they got (kind of Swedish style) raped by Julian Assange just as he was leaking the juicy stuff is the only thing making the conspiracy theories seem plausible.

Also as I understand it, Assange has agreed to face the charges in Sweden if they will guarantee no onward extradition to the US. I can understand that they don't want to do this in perpetuity as this would make Sweden a safe haven for Assange indefinitely, but I don't see why they couldn't cut some deal to ensure that the rape charges are treated in isolation and he will be free to leave Sweden for a defined period after they are concluded.

I'm not necessarily a fan of everything Assange did, and I have no doubt that he's got a big ego and his own agenda but there's something very Soviet style about this whole situation.

[Andy Zarse]

AJS- said:

The conspiracy theories are a bit strange. I don't see the advantage of taking him to Sweden as compared to direct extradition from the UK, but I'm not a US government spook. My best guess would be that it's playing for time and altering the publicity. It will be a lot easier to extradite a suspected rapist who was hiding out in the Ecuadorian embassy for years on end than it would have been to extradite a poster boy for civil liberties and freedom of information in 2012.

The idea that these women simply remembered that they got (kind of Swedish style) raped by Julian Assange just as he was leaking the juicy stuff is the only thing making the conspiracy theories seem plausible.

Also as I understand it, Assange has agreed to face the charges in Sweden if they will guarantee no onward extradition to the US. I can understand that they don't want to do this in perpetuity as this would make Sweden a safe haven for Assange indefinitely, but I don't see why they couldn't cut some deal to ensure that the rape charges are treated in isolation and he will be free to leave Sweden for a defined period after they are concluded.

I'm not necessarily a fan of everything Assange did, and I have no doubt that he's got a big ego and his own agenda but there's something very Soviet style about this whole situation.

No, he should be treated exactly the same as anyone else. I note he wasn't worried about extradition from Sweden to the US before he had the "struggle cuddles" with those women who accused him. He needs to face the music and argue against the evidence presented in court.

[Foppo]

Agee with the above post.Has Sweden lost the plot or are they so under the thumb of the USA?

You have to be desperate to end up with rape charges in Sweden.It is a set up and Assange might have his own agenda we are entitled to proper information.Listen to what President Kennedy used to say about secrets.In the end it cost him his live.

[AJS-]

Andy Zarse said:

No, he should be treated exactly the same as anyone else. I note he wasn't worried about extradition from Sweden to the US before he had the "struggle cuddles" with those women who accused him. He needs to face the music and argue against the evidence presented in court.

He isn't like anyone else though is he. He's been granted asylum by Ecuador as they agreed there is reason to believe there is a political motive for these accusations and a credible threat of him ending up in the US facing much more serious charges. Whatever Ecuador's motives may be.

Either you break the impasse by doing a deal or we carry on staking out the Ecuadorian embassy for years more hoping he comes out for a medical emergency or something. Refusing to do that deal just adds to the perception that there's much more at stake than these sex allegations.

[scherzkeks]

Moominator said:

So if you had leaked alot of classified information aboutthe US would you risk it?

No one with any sense would. Which he knows.

Fact is, there are no formal charges against him, as he has not been interviewed. That his offer to do the interview in the embassy was rejected says a lot I think. He's also offered to do the interview in Sweden if a guarantee could be made ensuring that he would not be extradited. They won't guarantee that ofc, so the game continues. How much has this cost the British taxpayer? Some 14 million IIRC?

[Zod]

Newsflash: Assange is a prick.

[scherzkeks]

Moominator said:

I agree with you. The 'issue' for him is as soon as he leaves whose to say there isn't an immediate extradition request submitted to the UK for him presented by the US? I doubt he'd even get anywhere near Sweden. He'll be extradited even before he considers blonde ladies and natty looking sweaters in Fjords.