WikiLeaks founder Assange rejects UK-Ecuador deal to leave embassy
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has rejected a proposed plan by Ecuadorean president to leave the country’s embassy in London with his lawyers insisting that the deal would not shield him against persecution and potential extradition to the US.
Assange’s legal team dismissed the agreement with British authorities, as described by President Lenin Moreno in an interview with a local radio station, emphasizing that it would not offer their client protection against “persecution” and likely handover to the US, where he is wanted for criminal charges of unveiling classified military and government information.
Moreno said there was now a “path” for Assange’s exit from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London -- where he has been holed up for six years – following a deal with the British government, based on which “he would not be extradited to any country with the death penalty,” UK-based daily Independent reported Friday.
“The way has been cleared for Mr. Assange to take the decision to leave in near liberty,” Moreno said as quoted by the daily, which further pointed to his eagerness to end the long residence of the whistleblower at the diplomatic compound.
The Ecuadorean president, however, did not precisely explain what he meant by “near liberty, only asserting that UK authorities had guaranteed Assange would not be extradited anywhere that would put his life in danger.
Firmly rejecting Moreno’s plan, Assange’s attorney Barry Pollack said, “the suggestion that as long as the death penalty is off the table, Mr Assange need not fear persecution is obviously wrong.”
SS
