Assange hearing halted for lack of 'Australian'-fluent translator

[struggle4progress]

By Stephan Kueffner
26 October 2018 — 9:39am

Quito: The first hearing in Julian Assange's lawsuit against Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Ministry was suspended as the WikiLeaks founder was unable to understand his translator, and the judge called for a replacement fluent in "Australian."

Speaking from Ecuador's Embassy in London via Skype, Assange said the court-appointed translation service was "not good enough." Judge Karina Martinez said that it was indispensable that Assange testify, and said the court had erred by appointing a translator who only spoke English, apparently under the impression that Australian dialect is unintelligible to other anglophones ...

https://www.watoday.com.au/world/europe/assange-hearing-halted-to-find-translator-fluent-in-australian-20181026-p50c5c.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

[struggle4progress]

1. Ecuador no longer to intervene with UK for Assange

... Foreign Minister José Valencia said in an interview with Reuters that Ecuador’s only responsibility was looking after Assange’s wellbeing, after the Australian national sued the country over new conditions placed on his asylum in the London embassy.

“Ecuador has no responsibility to take any further steps,” Valencia said. “We are not Mr. Assange’s lawyers, nor are we representatives of the British government. This is a matter to be resolved between Assange and Great Britain” ...

Valencia said he was “frustrated” by Assange’s decision to file suit in an Ecuadorean court last week over new terms of his asylum, which required him to pay for medical bills and telephone calls and to clean up after his pet cat.

“There is no obligation in international agreements for Ecuador to pay for things like Mr. Assange’s laundry,” he said ...

https://www.euractiv.com/section/data-protection/news/ecuador-no-longer-to-intervene-with-uk-for-wikileaks-assange-foreign-minister/

[struggle4progress]

2. UK Said Assange would not be extradited

Reuters
Published: 2018-10-26 16:35:13.0

In a written response to queries from Ecuador, the UK explained that it had not received any extradition request, and said Assange's jail time in the UK for violating bail terms by seeking refuge in the embassy would not exceed six months, Inigo Salvador, who represents the Ecuadorean government in court proceedings, told reporters.

Salvador said Ecuador passed on the UK's response to Assange's lawyers, but noted that if Assange stayed in the embassy Ecuador would put new conditions on his stay.

"Mr. Assange had a choice between turning himself in to British authorities with those assurances, or staying in the embassy of Ecuador, but given that the asylum had lasted six years with no signs of immediate resolution we were going to place certain rules," Salvador said at a news conference ...

https://bdnews24.com/world/2018/10/26/uk-said-julian-assange-would-not-be-extradited-ecuador-s-top-attorney

[struggle4progress]

3. Assange Offered 2 Options Regarding Stay At Embassy

Mohammad Ali
Fri 26th October 2018 | 11:48 AM

... Last week, Assange's lawyers sued Ecuador over the conditions of his stay in the embassy, which, according to them, violate the WikiLeaks founder's rights. The hearings at court were due to be held on Thursday, however, they were postponed due to technical problems

In July, Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said that Assange might leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London at any moment if his rights and international norms were guaranteed. Moreno stressed that he wanted to find a way out of the situation with Assange without problems for his country, adding that in that regard consultations with the UK authorities and Assange's representatives were being held.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/assange-was-offered-2-options-regarding-stay-465243.html

[Me.]

7. This Guy Sounds Like A Real Pig

I bet they are sick to death of him

[ProudLib72]

4. The judge just smiled and handed him a Vegemite sandwich

And Assange said: "I come from a land down under. Do you speaka my language?"

[dalton99a]

6. +1

[Me.]

5. Wait...What?