[ad_1]
Copyright of the image
Pennsylvania
Julian Assange lives at the United Kingdom Embassy in Ecuador since 2012.
Julian Assange will take legal action against the Ecuadorian government, accusing him of violating his "fundamental rights and freedoms".
The co-founder of Wikileaks has been living in his UK embassy since 2012 after seeking asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden following a rape complaint, which was later dropped.
The London embassy gave him a set of house rules this week, especially to take better care of his cat.
Mr. Assange is the subject of an arrest for alleged violation of the conditions of his release on bail.
- Chronology: the saga Julian Assange
- Assange receives a feline ultimatum from Ecuador
Wikileaks' lawyer Baltasar Garzon is in Ecuador to open the case. According to the press association, it should be heard by a court next week.
Wikileaks said the country's government had threatened to remove the protection that Assange had enjoyed since his political asylum.
He added that his access to the outside world had been "summarily cut off".
In a memo, he threatened to confiscate the animal if he did not occupy it, he said.
Copyright of the image
Reuters
Mr. Assange received the cat by his children
The embassy removed Assange's Internet connection in March, accusing him of "interfering in the affairs of other countries".
However, earlier this week, it was announced that it would be partially restored.
In a statement, Wikileaks said: "The measures taken by Ecuador against Julian Assange have been widely condemned by the human rights community."
The Ecuadorian government reportedly refused the visit of Human Rights Watch general counsel Dinah PoKempner and would not have allowed several meetings with his lawyers.
Assange's lawyers also stated that they were challenging the lawfulness of the Ecuadorian government's "special protocol", which subordinates its political asylum to the "censorship" of its freedom of opinion, speech and freedom. 39; association.
What is the special protocol?
Assange's lawyers demand the protocol:
- Demands that journalists, Assange's lawyers and anyone looking to see him disclose private or political details, such as serial numbers and codes of their phones and tablets.
- The protocol says that the government can "share" information "with other agencies"
- Allows the Embassy to seize the property of Mr. Assange or his visitors and to surrender them without a warrant to the British authorities
Wikileaks said that US Congressmen had written an open letter to the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, about the situation.
According to the document, the paper indicated that, to advance critical issues – such as economic cooperation, assistance against drug trafficking and the eventual return of a USAID mission to Ecuador. -, it was first necessary to solve a "major challenge" – the status of Mr. Assange.
Why does he live at the Embassy?
The Swedish police issued a warrant for arrest against Mr Assange in August 2010 and he was arrested in London in December of the same year.
The UK Supreme Court ruled in May 2012 that he should be extradited to the country to face two separate allegations: one of rape and one of molestation.
But Mr Assange said the claims were "groundless" and that in June he was at the Embassy of Ecuador.
Ecuador granted him asylum in August 2012, fearing that his human rights would be violated if he was extradited.
In May 2017, the Swedish Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed that the allegations had been dropped.
And in July 2018, the United Kingdom and Ecuador confirmed that they had ongoing discussions on the fate of the whistleblower.
However, an arrest warrant against Mr. Assange – issued in 2012 after he was not surrendered to a court when his extradition was approved – remains in effect.
