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Get Your Updates Here: 'Julian Assange Granted Asylum By Ecuador - Live Coverage' - GuardianUK
Julian Assange granted asylum by Ecuador - live coverageGet the latest news and reaction as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's application for political asylum is accepted by Ecuador's foreign minister
Jo Adetunji and Lizzy Davies - GuardianUK
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 16 August 2012 05.14 EDT
A masked supporter of Julian Assange outside Ecuador's embassy in Knightsbridge, London.
Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Evening summary:
Ecuador has granted Julian Assange's request for political asylum. In a high-octane speech in Quito, the country's foreign minister said the South American nation believed the WikiLeaks founder's fears of persecution were legitimate.
Foreign secretary William Hague has made it clear there will be no safe passage. Although Ecuador has granted Assange's request it is unclear quite how Assange will get there, with the prospect of his arrest if he leaves the embassy.
Assange will give a live statement on Sunday 19 August at 2pm, according to Wikileaks' Twitter feed. Again it is unclear how he will do this given the huge police presence on the doorsteps of the Ecuadorean embassy.
Assange could appeal to the International Court of Justice if the UK blocks his exit, according to another Wikileaks tweet. Professor Eileen Denza, a legal expert on diplomatic issues, says the court has been used in the past to settle disputes. The situation is currently a standoff, with the embassy unable to hold him indefinitely and the UK not obliged to give Assange safe passage.
Supporters and critics are still split between those who believe that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges and those who believe it would open him up to extradition to the US. Assange has said he would be prepared to return to Sweden to answer questions if he received diplomatic assurances that he would not be pursued by the US for leaking documents. So far this hasn't happened.
Foreign secretary William Hague has made it clear there will be no safe passage. Although Ecuador has granted Assange's request it is unclear quite how Assange will get there, with the prospect of his arrest if he leaves the embassy.
Assange will give a live statement on Sunday 19 August at 2pm, according to Wikileaks' Twitter feed. Again it is unclear how he will do this given the huge police presence on the doorsteps of the Ecuadorean embassy.
Assange could appeal to the International Court of Justice if the UK blocks his exit, according to another Wikileaks tweet. Professor Eileen Denza, a legal expert on diplomatic issues, says the court has been used in the past to settle disputes. The situation is currently a standoff, with the embassy unable to hold him indefinitely and the UK not obliged to give Assange safe passage.
Supporters and critics are still split between those who believe that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault charges and those who believe it would open him up to extradition to the US. Assange has said he would be prepared to return to Sweden to answer questions if he received diplomatic assurances that he would not be pursued by the US for leaking documents. So far this hasn't happened.
23m ago
It would be "an outrageous breach of international law" say the Ecuadoreans but can British police enter an embassy? My colleague Rajeev Syal has produced this guide: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/aug/16/julian-assange-ecuador?CMP=twt_gu
Under international law, security forces across the world are not allowed to enter an embassy without the express permission of the ambassador – even though the embassy remains the territory of the host nation. The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations codified the "rule of inviolability", which all nations observe because their own diplomatic missions are otherwise at risk elsewhere.
However, the Foreign Office told Ecuador that it had the power to revoke the embassy's diplomatic status under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987. This act was passed by Parliament in the wake of the Libyan embassy crisis three years before, when PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead from inside the embassy.
Such a step might set a dangerous precedent by encouraging other governments to justify entering embassies to arrest dissidents seeking diplomatic asylum.
If Ecuador challenged a revocation, ministers would have to argue at the high court that the mission, by harbouring Assange, had itself fallen foul of international law. The government used the power in 1988 to deal with squatters in the Cambodian embassy.
The 1961 convention stresses that missions must respect local laws and not interfere in the host nation's internal affairs. The Metropolitan police says it has the power and right to arrest Assange for breach of bail if he steps outside the embassy.They have also delivered a letter to the embassy demanding that Assange surrender himself.
A legal source at the Ecuador embassy claimed yesterday that the 1987 Act was established to stop a major threat such as terrorism or a nuclear threat.
"The law was established after the shooting of a police officer and would be invoked if the public are under threat. In this case, no one could argue that Assange's presence in this embassy is a threat to the British public," the source said.
However, the Foreign Office told Ecuador that it had the power to revoke the embassy's diplomatic status under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987. This act was passed by Parliament in the wake of the Libyan embassy crisis three years before, when PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead from inside the embassy.
Such a step might set a dangerous precedent by encouraging other governments to justify entering embassies to arrest dissidents seeking diplomatic asylum.
If Ecuador challenged a revocation, ministers would have to argue at the high court that the mission, by harbouring Assange, had itself fallen foul of international law. The government used the power in 1988 to deal with squatters in the Cambodian embassy.
The 1961 convention stresses that missions must respect local laws and not interfere in the host nation's internal affairs. The Metropolitan police says it has the power and right to arrest Assange for breach of bail if he steps outside the embassy.They have also delivered a letter to the embassy demanding that Assange surrender himself.
A legal source at the Ecuador embassy claimed yesterday that the 1987 Act was established to stop a major threat such as terrorism or a nuclear threat.
"The law was established after the shooting of a police officer and would be invoked if the public are under threat. In this case, no one could argue that Assange's presence in this embassy is a threat to the British public," the source said.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/aug/16/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-asylum-live?CMP=NECNETTXT8187
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
21m ago
The Union of South American Nations (Unasur) is due to hold an "extraordinary meeting" in Ecuador on Sunday to discuss the situation at the embassy in London.
A statement released on the website of Peru's foreign ministry, which holds the rotating presidency of the intergovernmental union, said:
Julian Assange is also due to give a live address on the same day, according to Wikileaks.
Link: Same as OP
The Union of South American Nations (Unasur) is due to hold an "extraordinary meeting" in Ecuador on Sunday to discuss the situation at the embassy in London.
A statement released on the website of Peru's foreign ministry, which holds the rotating presidency of the intergovernmental union, said:
The foreign ministry of Peru lets public opinion know that, in concordance with the statutory responsibilities of the temporary presidency of Unasur, at the behest of the Republic of Ecuador and after consulting member states, an extraordinary meeting of the Counsel of Foreign Ministers of the Union has been convened on Sunday August 19 in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The meeting has been requested with the intention of considering the situation raised at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom.
The meeting has been requested with the intention of considering the situation raised at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom.
Julian Assange is also due to give a live address on the same day, according to Wikileaks.
Link: Same as OP