Assange’s mother fears he would face death penalty in US
Source: The News International (Pakistan, UK edition)
QUITO: The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is lobbying Ecuador to grant him asylum, says she is worried her son could face execution if extradited to the United States. Christine Assange met on Wednesday with President Rafael Correa, who is considering whether to grant political asylum to Assange.
The Australian campaigner took refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in mid-June to avoid extradition to Sweden. Swedish investigators want Assange to answer questions about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women in August 2010 after WikiLeaks began releasing classified US documents.
I feel as a mother that he is not capable of the charges not even the charges, the allegations against him, his mother said in an interview with AFP at the Carondelet presidential palace after she met with Correa. There is absolutely no doubt that this is a political persecution, by the Swedish prosecutors and the police, with interference of the government, she said. Christine Assange echoed her sons fears that Sweden would extradite him to the United States to face charges for releasing masses of US military and diplomatic documents into the public domain.
The US government feels that it can seek to try my son for espionage, and possibly executing him simply for doing the job of a good investigative journalist, which is telling the truth about power, she said. The United States has opened a criminal investigation into the leaks and is prosecuting US army private Bradley Manning in a military court. But it has not said whether it intends to bring charges against Assange as well.
snip
Read more: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-124479-Assanges-mother-fears-he-would-face-death-penalty-in-US
PDJane
(10,103 posts)The treatment of Bradley Manning should tell you the lengths the US will go to to protect themselves from embarassment.
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)struggle4progress
(118,332 posts)Guantanamo Bay or to execution as a traitor). The only live evidence on the point came from the defence witness Mr Alhem who said it couldnt happen. In the absence of any evidence that Mr Assange risks torture or execution Mr Robertson was right not to pursue this point in closing. It may be worth adding that I do not know if Sweden has an extradition treaty with the United States of America. There has been no evidence regarding this. I would expect that there is such a treaty. If Mr Assange is surrendered to Sweden and a request is made to Sweden for his extradition to the United States of America, then article 28 of the framework decision applies. In such an event the consent of the Secretary of State in this country will be required, in accordance with section 58 of the Extradition Act 2003, before Sweden can order Mr Assanges extradition to a third State. The Secretary of State is required to give notice to Mr Assange unless it is impracticable to do so. Mr Assange would have the protection of the courts in Sweden and, as the Secretary of States decision can be reviewed, he would have the protection of the English courts also. But none of this was argued ..."
City of Westminster Magistrates Court (Sitting at Belmarsh Magistrates Court)
The judicial authority in Sweden -v- Julian Paul Assange
Findings of facts and reasons
So, in the end, Assange did not argue in UK Courts that he could be extradited to the US from Sweden, but instead one of Assange's own witnesses indicated that the extradition to the US was factually impossible. And, in any case, as the UK Magistrate notes clearly, Assange could simultaneously fight any attempt, to extradite him to the US from Sweden, in both the UK and Swedish courts
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,259 posts)they could send him to Texas
midnight
(26,624 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)Now we see where he gets it.
The US would have extradited him already if they wanted to.
He's holing himself up somewhere rather than just clearing up the Swedish charges.