Julian Assange (remember him?) update

[nightshadea]

wow look at those comments ……

[SanVito]

Breaking news from the BBC - Assange has been arrested in London. No details yet.

[Lord_Feldon]

It’s over.

[Smapti]

About damn time.

So, who gets custody of the cat?

[Lord_Feldon]

The police were “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government’s withdrawal of asylum.” Ouch.

[GreenWyvern]

The Guardian has live updates, including a video of his arrest, and a statement by President Moreno.

[Smapti]

I don’t suppose anyone’s been able to ID that magazine/photo/whatever Assange is clutching in the arrest video yet? From the vague out-of-focus glimpse you get of it I want to say it’s a photo of either Richard Dawkins or Pope Francis, but I could be completely wrong.

ETA: Per Twitter-fu, it’s a book by Gore Vidal.

[GreenWyvern]

He’s going to have plenty of time to read it.

[Ravenman]

Wow, he looked terrible. I have no sympathy for him on the political front, but I wonder if he needs a doctor or something.

[Gyrate]

President Moreno’s statement is rather blunt.

The patience of Ecuador has reached its limit on the behaviour of Mr Assange. He installed electronic and distortion equipment not allowed. He blocked the security cameras of the Ecuadorian mission in London. He has confronted and mistreated guards. He had accessed the security files of our embassy without permission. He claimed to be isolated and rejected the internet connection offered by the embassy and yet he had a mobile phone with which he communicated with the outside world.

While Ecuador upheld the generous conditions of his asylum, Mr Assange legally challenged in three difference instances the legality of the protocol. In all cases the relevant judicial authorities have validated Ecuador’s position in line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law.

I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty. The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules.

Finally, two days ago, Wikileaks, Mr Assange’s allied organisation, threatened the government of Ecuador. My government has nothing to fear and does not act under threats. Ecuador is guided by the principles of law, complies with international law and protects the interests of Ecuadorians.

I think President Moreno is a tad miffed at Mr Assange.

[bobot]

No extradition to a country that tortures? Damn, we lose. It’s probably just as well, though, because we have a political toady AG who wouldn’t be interested in persuing some specific lines of inquiry anyway.

[GreenWyvern]

Assange will be extradited to the United States.

Scotland Yard has announced:

Julian Assange, 47, (03.07.71) has today, Thursday 11 April, been further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act. He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as possible.

So much for all the people who thought his fears of extradition were unreasonable.

[Lord_Feldon]

The USA has requested extradition.

Hopefully the charges, whatever they are, are for more substantial than “he published stuff the USA wished he hadn’t.”

[Lord_Feldon]

@GreenWyvern

So much for all the people who thought his fears of extradition were unreasonable.

Maybe. It depends on what the charges are. It’s possible his alleged crimes against the USA occurred while he was in the embassy, and he’s not going to be charged with any of the stuff that supposedly drove him to seek asylum.

[Smapti]

@Lord_Feldon

The USA has requested extradition.

Hopefully the charges, whatever they are, are for more substantial than “he published stuff the USA wished he hadn’t.”

He helped put Trump into power. If they can prove him guilty of jaywalking, he deserves to hang for it.

[BobLibDem]

The previous president of Ecuador has a difference of opinion:

The greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history, Lenin Moreno, allowed the British police to enter our embassy in London to arrest Assange.
Moreno is a corrupt man, but what he has done is a crime that humanity will never forget.

[JohnT]

This is the day Ecuador became President…

[Jasmine]

My entire impression of Assange is derived from the movie, “The Fifth Estate” (2013). It portrayed him as an egotistical prick who had no regard for anything other than his own personal glorification. His arrest is good news to me.

[bobot]

Hold on… so they WILL extradite to a country that tortures. Cool. Still too bad about our AG, however.

[Acsenray]

He spent years exposing security secrets, exposing civil servants’ and intelligence sources’ privacy and security. He built a secret information trafficking organization with no accountability to anyone. And then he uses his power to manipulate our election and Joelle’s elect an immoral, ignorant, fascist, criminal thug to the country’s and possibly the world’s most powerful office.

Fuck Julian Assange sideways.