The Julian Assange Saga

Update: Ecuador granted asylum to Julian Assange citing possible violation of his civil rights. The Australian citizen thanked the Embassy staff for a "significant victory", but how Assange can reach the safety of Ecuador from the confines of its London embassy is problematic. Revoking the embassy's diplomatic status is also fraught with undesirable consequences. The standoff continues....

Guido Johnson*

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, jumped bail in June and sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge to prevent his extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges. But Her Majesty's government is having none of it. In a letter to embassy officials the UK government said it had the legal authority to revoke the embassy's diplomatic status under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act of 1987 and capture Assange, by force if necessary, to meet its extradition obligations. Ecuador's Foreign Minister responded by saying, "we are not a colony of Britain" rejecting what he termed "an explicit threat". Mr. Assange's request for political assylum has yet to be decided, but there were reports earlier this week President Rafael Correa was predisposed to grant his request for humanitarian reasons. Ecuador's foreign minister said a decision would be made on Thursday morning local time.

Assange has steadfastly denied the allegations by two female volunteers that he committed sexual offenses against them while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture. For Assange, who views the allegations as politically motivated, the sex charges are secondary, since he justifiably believes Sweden would in turn extradite him to the United States to face more serious charges of espionage that are punishable by the death penalty. His collaborator in the United States Army, Bradley Manning, has been in military prison for more than two years, sometimes in solitary lockdown of 23-24 hours a day awaiting a court martial for his role in the unauthorized release of classified material. The United States government has been serially embarrassed by the slow release of thousands of its diplomatic cables from around the world. The latest batch are from the communications of US diplomats serving in several Latin American countries. They show the reach and breath of US influence in countries whose democracies are fragile or practically non-existent.

In April, 2011 Ecuador declared US Ambassador Heather Hodges persona non grata after a leaked cable from her suggested President Correa was aware of corruption allegations against a senior policeman he elevated to commander of the national police force. Washington responded by expelling the Ecuadorean ambassador, and diplomatic relations have not been re-established. Assange interviewed President Correa in April 2012 for his Russia Today television show. During the interview Mr. Correa repeatedly praised Wikileaks for its work. The decision to grant Assange assylum will not be an easy one for Ecuador's president. He faces reelection in 2013, and although he is popular, his country enjoys preferential trade status with the US on 1300 items. The trade deal is up for renewal in January.

*whose real name was Guy Fawkes, confessed under torture to a plot with twelve co-conspirators to blow up the House of Lords on opening day in 1605. Fawkes, a converted Roman Catholic cavalier, escaped being hung and quartered by jumping off his execution scaffold and breaking his neck.