If there can be such a thing as a Living Martyr, Julian Assange should
be the Poster Child.
Carl Jarvis
On 2/4/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
> Glimmer of Hope for Assange
> By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print | Send by email |En español
>
> Julian Assange in one of his rare public appearances in the Ecuadorean
> embassy in London, where he has been in hiding since June 2012. Credit:
> Creative Commons
> GENEVA, Jan 30 2015 (IPS) - There is a window of hope, thanks to a U.N.
> human rights body, for a solution to the diplomatic asylum of Wikileaks
> founder Julian Assange, holed up in the embassy of Ecuador in London for
> the
> past two and a half years.
> Authorities in Sweden, which is seeking the Australian journalist's
> extradition to face allegations of sexual assault, admitted there is a
> possibility that measures could be taken to jumpstart the stalled legal
> proceedings against Assange.
> The head of Assange's legal defence team, former Spanish judge Baltasar
> Garzón, told IPS that in relation to this case "we have expressed
> satisfaction that the Swedish state" has accepted the proposals of several
> countries.
> The prominent Spanish lawyer and international jurist was referring to
> proposals set forth by Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Slovakia and Uruguay.
> The final report by the U.N. Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic
> Review (UPR), adopted Thursday Jan. 28 in Geneva, Switzerland, contains
> indications that a possible understanding among the different countries
> concerned might be on the horizon.
> The UPR is a mechanism of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine
> the human rights performance of all U.N. member states.
> The situation of Assange, a journalist, computer programmer and activist
> born in Australia in 1971, was introduced in Sweden's UPR by Ecuador, the
> country that granted him diplomatic asylum in its embassy in London, and by
> several European and Latin American nations.
> The head of the Swedish delegation to the UPR, Annika Söder, state
> secretary
> for political affairs at Sweden's foreign ministry, told IPS that "This is
> a
> very complex matter in which the government can only do a few things."
> Söder said that in Sweden, Assange is "suspected of crimes, rape, sexual
> molestation in accordance with Swedish law. And that's why the prosecutor
> in
> Sweden wants to conduct the primary investigation.
> "We are aware of Mr. Assange's being in the embassy of Ecuador and we hope
> that there will be ways to deal with the legal process in one way or the
> other. But it is up to the legal authorities to respond," she said.
> Assange's legal defence team complains that Sweden's public prosecutor's
> office is delaying the legal proceedings and refuses to question him by
> telephone, email, video link or in writing.
> Garzón noted that parallel to the lack of action by the Swedish
> prosecutor's
> office, there is a secret U.S. legal process against Assange and other
> members of Wikileaks, the organisation he created in 2006.
> "The origin of the U.S. legal proceedings against Assange was the mass
> publication by Wikileaks of documents, in many cases sensitive ones, which
> affected the United States," said Garzón.
> Wikileaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and
> other classified U.S. documents revealed practices by Washington that put
> it
> in an awkward position with other governments.
> Assange sought refuge in the embassy after exhausting options in British
> courts to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning related to
> allegations of rape and sexual molestation, of which he says he is
> innocent.
> He has not been charged with a crime in Sweden and is worried that if he is
> extradited to that country he will be sent to the United States, where he
> is
> under investigation for releasing secret government documents.
> If the legal process in Sweden begins to move forward, there would be a
> possibility for him to be able to leave the Ecuadorean embassy, where he
> took refuge on Jun. 19, 2012, and give up the diplomatic asylum he was
> granted by the government of Rafael Correa on Aug. 16, 2012.
> In the UPR report, Sweden promised to examine recommendations made by other
> countries and to provide a response before the next U.N. Human Rights
> Council session, which starts Jun. 15.
> Garzón has urged the Swedish government to specify a timeframe for the
> legal
> action against Assange, as the delegation from Ecuador recommended in the
> UPR.
> "The Human Rights Committee, another specialised U.N. body, stipulates that
> precise timeframes must be established for putting a detained person at the
> disposal of a judge," he pointed out.
> Söder told IPS that Sweden's legal system does not set any deadline for the
> prosecutor to complete the pretrial examination phase, as reflected in the
> Assange case.
> Garzón is also asking Sweden to introduce, as soon as possible, "measures
> to
> ensure that the legal proceedings are carried out in accordance with
> standards that guarantee the rights of individuals, concretely the right to
> effective judicial recourse and legal proceedings without undue delays."
> He also called for the adoption of administrative and judicial measures to
> make investigations before the courts more effective. With respect to this,
> he mentioned "the practice of measures of inquiry abroad, in line with
> international cooperation mechanisms."
> In addition, the international jurist demanded measures to ensure that
> people deprived of their freedom are provided with legal guarantees in
> accordance with international standards.
> Glimmer of Hope for Assange
> By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
> Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. | Send by email |En español
>
> Julian Assange in one of his rare public appearances in the Ecuadorean
> embassy in London, where he has been in hiding since June 2012. Credit:
> Creative Commons
> GENEVA, Jan 30 2015 (IPS) - There is a window of hope, thanks to a U.N.
> human rights body, for a solution to the diplomatic asylum of Wikileaks
> founder Julian Assange, holed up in the embassy of Ecuador in London for
> the
> past two and a half years.
> Authorities in Sweden, which is seeking the Australian journalist's
> extradition to face allegations of sexual assault, admitted there is a
> possibility that measures could be taken to jumpstart the stalled legal
> proceedings against Assange.
> The head of Assange's legal defence team, former Spanish judge Baltasar
> Garzón, told IPS that in relation to this case "we have expressed
> satisfaction that the Swedish state" has accepted the proposals of several
> countries.
> The prominent Spanish lawyer and international jurist was referring to
> proposals set forth by Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Slovakia and Uruguay.
> The final report by the U.N. Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic
> Review (UPR), adopted Thursday Jan. 28 in Geneva, Switzerland, contains
> indications that a possible understanding among the different countries
> concerned might be on the horizon.
> The UPR is a mechanism of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine
> the human rights performance of all U.N. member states.
> The situation of Assange, a journalist, computer programmer and activist
> born in Australia in 1971, was introduced in Sweden's UPR by Ecuador, the
> country that granted him diplomatic asylum in its embassy in London, and by
> several European and Latin American nations.
> The head of the Swedish delegation to the UPR, Annika Söder, state
> secretary
> for political affairs at Sweden's foreign ministry, told IPS that "This is
> a
> very complex matter in which the government can only do a few things."
> Söder said that in Sweden, Assange is "suspected of crimes, rape, sexual
> molestation in accordance with Swedish law. And that's why the prosecutor
> in
> Sweden wants to conduct the primary investigation.
> "We are aware of Mr. Assange's being in the embassy of Ecuador and we hope
> that there will be ways to deal with the legal process in one way or the
> other. But it is up to the legal authorities to respond," she said.
> Assange's legal defence team complains that Sweden's public prosecutor's
> office is delaying the legal proceedings and refuses to question him by
> telephone, email, video link or in writing.
> Garzón noted that parallel to the lack of action by the Swedish
> prosecutor's
> office, there is a secret U.S. legal process against Assange and other
> members of Wikileaks, the organisation he created in 2006.
> "The origin of the U.S. legal proceedings against Assange was the mass
> publication by Wikileaks of documents, in many cases sensitive ones, which
> affected the United States," said Garzón.
> Wikileaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and
> other classified U.S. documents revealed practices by Washington that put
> it
> in an awkward position with other governments.
> Assange sought refuge in the embassy after exhausting options in British
> courts to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning related to
> allegations of rape and sexual molestation, of which he says he is
> innocent.
> He has not been charged with a crime in Sweden and is worried that if he is
> extradited to that country he will be sent to the United States, where he
> is
> under investigation for releasing secret government documents.
> If the legal process in Sweden begins to move forward, there would be a
> possibility for him to be able to leave the Ecuadorean embassy, where he
> took refuge on Jun. 19, 2012, and give up the diplomatic asylum he was
> granted by the government of Rafael Correa on Aug. 16, 2012.
> In the UPR report, Sweden promised to examine recommendations made by other
> countries and to provide a response before the next U.N. Human Rights
> Council session, which starts Jun. 15.
> Garzón has urged the Swedish government to specify a timeframe for the
> legal
> action against Assange, as the delegation from Ecuador recommended in the
> UPR.
> "The Human Rights Committee, another specialised U.N. body, stipulates that
> precise timeframes must be established for putting a detained person at the
> disposal of a judge," he pointed out.
> Söder told IPS that Sweden's legal system does not set any deadline for the
> prosecutor to complete the pretrial examination phase, as reflected in the
> Assange case.
> Garzón is also asking Sweden to introduce, as soon as possible, "measures
> to
> ensure that the legal proceedings are carried out in accordance with
> standards that guarantee the rights of individuals, concretely the right to
> effective judicial recourse and legal proceedings without undue delays."
> He also called for the adoption of administrative and judicial measures to
> make investigations before the courts more effective. With respect to this,
> he mentioned "the practice of measures of inquiry abroad, in line with
> international cooperation mechanisms."
> In addition, the international jurist demanded measures to ensure that
> people deprived of their freedom are provided with legal guarantees in
> accordance with international standards.
>
>
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