Julian Assange - Reprieve For A Whisleblower

 

Julian Assange sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 when the U.K. Supreme Court upheld the extradition order against him. He has remained confined within the Embassy for the last three-and-a-half years with a posse of policemen on 24-hour vigil outside to arrest him if he stepped out

Julian  Assange has strongly denied the charges of which two were dropped but not that of rape. He refused to be tried in Sweden fearing that he would be extradited to the U.S., where he faces official secrecy charges for the publication by WikiLeaks of thousands of classified documents. “It is a game changer,” said Carey Shenkman, a First Amendment and human rights attorney on Mr. Assange’s legal team. “We have been waiting for this for 15 months, and we are very happy. It is a 15-month independent review taking into account all evidence,” he told 

In a statement posted on the WikiLeaks Twitter account earlier in the day,  Julian Assange had said “Should the U.N. announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal. However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.”

In his submission to the panel, Julian Assange argued that living in a 30-square-metre room in the Ecuadorean Embassy with no sunlight or fresh air had taken a “significant toll” on his physical and mental health.

Julian Assange calls on Sweden, Britain to honour UN verdict Friday February 05,2016

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday February 05,2016 urged Sweden and Britain to let him freely leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he’s taken refuge three-and-a-half years ago, after the UN ruled that he had been arbitrarily detained.

At a press conference organised by his supporters, Julian Assange appeared on web cam to respond to the new developments.

“We have today a really significant victory that has brought a smile to my face,” Mr. Assange said. “It is now the task of the states of Sweden and the United Kingdom ... to implement the [UN] verdict.”

However, both governments had said that the UN ruling is not binding on them.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond termed the UN decision “ridiculous.”