"The United States, in speeches, say they have nothing to do with the Assange case, but now senators threaten to 'sanction,' in quotation marks, Ecuador for granting asylum to Assange, removing tariff preferences. Keep your tariff preferences. And if you want a contribution from Ecuador for a course on ethics and training in human rights, use these resources." Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. August 2012
Julian Assange’s life over the last three years is a gift to writers. From novelists, film-makers, to a soon-to-be aired Australian Television mini-series, it is however, a life which no-one would envy. Many would not approve of the way he has conducted his life and feel that he has brought his present situation on himself: many approve at his fight for freedom of the press and are appalled at his present situation resulting from his progress through the British Courts. Perhaps we may have been alarmed at the British threat to invade the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest him. Perhaps we think he should just go to Sweden and face what awaits him there. Whether or not we care about Julian Assange, his future is uncertain. He has a past where he has frequently been in fear of his life, and his present situation is no different. It would also seem that he has been abandoned by his country of birth. In fact, it would appear that he has no future or none over which he has control.
Assange’s future, from the British point of view, is that he has avoided bail stipulations and the British High Courts’ decision to grant a Swedish request for his extradition. Since he walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in June of this year requesting asylum, he stands to be arrested should he leave the Embassy. Ecuador granted Assange asylum on the 15th August, because as the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino says, “We believe his fears are legitimate.” There is, of course, a problem as Britain’s Foreign Minister, Douglas Haig, maintains, "We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the United Kingdom, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so." So Assange is virtually now a prisoner in the Embassy. He has maintained throughout these last years, and there are many who agree with him, that should he be extradited to Sweden, he will be immediately be subjected to rendition from there to the United States where he will be on trial for treason and sedition although the United States has never formerly charged Assange with any crime.
Sweden is interesting in its request for Assange’s extradition. Throughout, the bizarre way the Swedish police have acted, giving the full text of the Assange interview to the press, and the fact that the two women immediately involved the press, it would appear there was a concerted effort to damage Assange. On the 25th August 2010 Sweden’s Chief Prosecutor Eva Finné stated that "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape.” She also stated that, “she did not mean that she does not believe the women's stories, only that there is nothing criminal in them.” However, due to a complaint by Claes Borgstrom, Marianne Ny, a Special Prosecutor, issued an arrest warrant for rape although Anna Ardin insists she has not been raped. Assange on the 30th August met with police with regard to “complaints by two women” and the advice was that he was suspected of deliberately breaking a condom. He added at that time that he would be staying in Sweden to fight the accusations and had no intention of fleeing the country. Although neither of the women involved has charged Assange with rape, the prosecution lawyer, Claes Borgstrom seems adamant that Assange has committed “rape” and that, “women often do not know when they have been raped and it is only lawyers who can decide that.” Assange was advised that he was just wanted for an interview and that he was free to leave Sweden having applied for and received approval from the Prosecutor to leave the country. He left Sweden on the 27th September 2010.
Yet, due to a “change of mind,” an Interpol Red Notice was issued against him 12 days after he left. Red Notices only apply where charges have been laid such as those against murderers, terrorists and other criminals. The timing of this Red Notice is interesting because at this time WikiLeaks was about to publish the Iraq War Logs and further confidential emails which would become known as Cablegate. Cablegate has had a profound effect throughout the world demonstrating how the United States and other Governments viewed and manipulated other countries. If Assange is eventually taken to Sweden, he will be refused bail as Swedish law does not allow bail. This will mean that he will be incarcerated in a cell. Andrew Fowler on the ABC Four Corners Program has said that, “Once in Sweden he would be at the mercy of a system which has a record of complying with US wishes.” There is also evidence that “Sweden has acted illegally in past extraditions involving the US.” Should this happen, it holds no prospect of a future for Assange.
Does Australia – and one must remember Assange is a Queenslander - hold any hope for Assange’s future? It would seem not. Although the present Foreign Minister assures us that Assange has had a “great deal” of Consular help, they are not negotiating for him to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy for asylum in Ecuador. Mr Bob Carr this week has dismissed Assange’s speech via an Ecuador Human Rights Forum to the United Nations as a “stunt,” and says he has no intention of “discussing the issue with Ecuadorian representatives.” Whilst there is much support for Assange in his home country, the above seems to indicate he does not have support from the Australian Government. This week Fairfax Media confirms that it has received, under Freedom-of-Information legislation, details which show that Australian officials have “been anxious to avoid any diplomatic embarrassment to the United States through the release of Australian diplomatic cables relating to Assange.”
There would seem to be nothing the Australian Government would do with regard to Assange without the approval of the United States. Our previous Attorney General has initially said his passport would be revoked, afterwards changing this because they “could trace him easily through his passport.” The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has stated that WikiLeaks publishing secret documents had been “illegal.” Both the Prime Minister and Robert McClennan came under pressure as Assange had broken no Australian law. Thus, it appears Julian Assange cannot hope for any help from the Australian Government. In May of last year however, the Sydney Peace Foundation awarded Julian Assange a Sydney Peace Prize in recognition of the “greater transparency and accountability of governments.” Professor Stuart Rees, director of the Foundation, said: “By challenging centuries old practices of government secrecy and by championing people’s right to know, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have created the potential for a new order in journalism and in the free flow of information.” Australia has also awarded him a Walkley Award In November 2011 in the category, Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. Since 2009 Julian Assange has also received: a 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award (New Media); the Sam Adams Award; Readers' Choice in TIME magazine's Person of the Year; Le Monde’s Person of the Year; The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, and on 17 September this year, Assange was awarded an Australian Aboriginal Passport in a ceremony in Sydney at Darlington. It was issued by the Indigenous Social Justice Association and handed over by its President, Ray Jackson, to Assange’s biological father, John Shipton, acting on Assange's behalf. While many Australians and others support Julian Assange in his endeavours to make available information governments wish to keep from their people, the Australian Government has decided he has no future in his homeland.
What will happen to Assange if he is actually extradited to Sweden and then transported to the United States? There is no doubt he will experience the same treatment as Bradley Manning who has received nothing but well-documented torture and mis-treatment during his confinement. Manning has been in pre-trial detention for more than 800 days (US law stipulates no more than 120 days) and, presumably, they are waiting for him to implicate Assange. He now faces a court martial, the charges of which are, “aiding the enemy – identified as al-Qaeda – by transmitting information that, published by WikiLeaks, became available to the enemy.”
Since the embarrassment the United States has suffered from the publication of confidential cables beginning from Assange’s visit to the U.S. Embassy in Rejavik, the United States Vice-President Joe Biden has called Assange a “high-tech terrorist” United States congressional leaders have called for him to be charged with espionage. Yesterday, (27th September), Julian Assange during his speech via video link to the United Nations called for President Obama to – “honour the help he gave in establishing press freedom to those countries engaged in “The Arab Spring,” - to others.” We learned on the 26th September, from an internal investigation in the US Air Force, that the United States has designated WikiLeaks to be regarded as the “enemy” and a terrorist organisation. WikiLeaks and Assange can now be treated under the laws of war which could include killing, capturing, detaining without trial etc. This is most alarming because it justifies an end to Assange’s life by the United States.
Today there are negotiations with Sweden to ensure Assange’s safety if he were to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy and travel to Sweden. This, however, would not be a guarantee that Assange would be safe throughout a trial, possible conviction, and imprisonment. In this event Sweden, Britain the United States, and Australia would be the subject of world scrutiny. Ricardo Patino is now in talks with Douglas Haig to discuss further the case of Julian Assange. The next few weeks should see some development but it will not give Julian Assange the right to be treated fairly according to his human rights. It will be a future designed to appease governments and grant him, and WikiLeaks, no future.
© Frances Richardson 28th September 2012
References:
Wiki Info: BBC News:www.bbc.co.uk
Daddys-Sverige:daddysblogg@gmail.com
ABC Four Corners:World:Sex,Lies and Julian Assange 20th July2012
Sydney Morning Herald:smh.com.au 28th September 2012
Sydney Peace Foundation:http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/
Post Script: 22/12/2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/2/trial-of-julian-assange
Assange was arrested in April 2019 by UK police from the embassy of Ecuador in London, where he had been granted asylum since 2012.
Assange, who has been embroiled in legal battles for 10 years, has been in a British prison since he was ejected from his refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in April 2019.
After hearing four weeks of evidence in the extradition trial of Julian Assange, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser announced on Thursday she will pronounce judgement on January 4 2021.
The WikiLeaks founder’s trial in London’s Central Criminal Court, also known as the Old Bailey, started on September 7.
He has been kept in the UK’s high-security Belmarsh prison since April 2019. He first appeared in court in February but the case was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible 175 years in prison in the US.
©Frances Richardson 2020
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