WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been hiding just out of authorities’ reach for years, ducking his arrest warrant issued over accusations of rape.
But it appears his life on the run may soon come to an end.
Assange says he will surrender himself to British police if he loses his current case before the United Nations. Assange has made a claim before the U.N. that he’s essentially a prisoner inside an Ecuadorian Embassy, which he has been unable to leave due to threat of arrest.
And, Assange claims, that amounts to illegal detention.
Writing on WikiLeaks’ Twitter account, Assange said if the U.N. panel finds he has lost his case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, then he will turn himself in to police at noon on Friday.
“However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me,” Assange added.
British police said Thursday that nothing has changed regarding Assange’s situation and that police will still seek to arrest him if he leaves the Ecuadorean Embassy.
The U.N. panel based in Geneva doesn’t have any binding authority to impose its findings on the British or Swedish judicial authorities, which have been involved in years of legal wrangling involving Assange.
Its decision could, however, influence how aggressively Swedish prosecutors pursue Assange for questioning about allegations of sexual misconduct.
Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for Swedish prosecutors, told The Associated Press on Thursday that “we have no comment now. We are waiting for the report.”
Assange voluntarily took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden where two women have accused him of sexual assault.
He has said his main legal concern is a possible indictment against him in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks’ release of government cables.
He has expressed the fear that British and Swedish authorities plan to send him to the U.S. to face charges against him there.
British police guarded the Ecuadorean Embassy for several years but removed the round-the-clock security cordon in October.
Police said they would still seek to arrest Assange if he leaves the embassy because of a valid arrest warrant. Police said both overt and covert means would be used to keep track of Assange.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
You have all your news incorrect. Just to get a quick reaction, you print such bogus and thrilling news,which have no basis or truth attached to it.
And you post bombastic crap with no links to prove your point. You’re as bad as you claim the article to be.
Al-Razzi….Your not American are you? Where did you come from? This man is a danger to our country and must be tried under our law. He endangered the lives of Americans and may have caused American deaths. So why don’t you put up or shut up.
Sal Balardo you are SO WRONG!
“National Security” is strictly to protect the GUILTY in the U.S.!
The OKC Bombing destroyed the Murrah Building and the scrap was immediately hauled to a TOP SECRET Waste Dump. WHY?
Because the evidence for the trial against the Clinton’s in their Florida Land Scam was being held in the building and the Clintons had it blown up to prevent the trial – IT WORKED!
As a retired Air Force NCO with 14 years in the Security Service Squadrons, I know that the real Top Secret information is only good for a very short time, usually one day to one week. Anything longer is hiding the criminal actions of someone or some group that is milking the government for some money, power, or prestige.
The D.U.M.B.’s were built with the 3 trillion dollars that the panel was to investigate in the Pentagon when THEIR MEETING ROOM was destroyed by a cruise missile on 9-11.
All of what I have said is documented on the internet so YOU can go look for yourself.
Get informed and quit attacking the messenger! Assange did the world a Great Favor when he opened the CAN-OF-WORMS that is the U.S. Government’s criminal actions which is all that they want him for – NOT the threat to their CIA Killers.
The CIA was created to kill the enemies of the PTB. It has worked quite well in that the CIA has destroyed more government that history. But, history is written by the winners and the losers (such as the Southern Rebels known as Confederates) never get their story into the history books. BTW, the “Civil War” was known in the South as the “War of Northern Aggression” as the yankees were out to destroy the South by controlling the market. They had already passed a bill that prohibited the sale of cotton to ANY foreignor and were going to vote on a bill to set the price of cotton at an unprofitable limit when the Southern Congressmen left their seats and left the Congress ‘sine die’ meaning ‘without day’ which technically destroyed the U.S. Congress and would require a new vote by the people to restore the Federal Government.
Lincoln had the Army arrest the Southern Congressmen and return them to their seats. The Congress has been seated UNDER MARTIAL LAW since 1861! without any lawful authority which is why everything else has happened.
When you get there you learn that there is NO HOPE for the U.S. an d they have stolen whatever they wanted from US the People!
spoken like a true worthless liberal
disregard above reply.
This guy lost his freedom a long time ago. The only real question is where he will serve out his time. People putting classified government documents online are not heroes. His publishing efforts may endanger the lives of people around the world.
When the egregious acts of government acting illicitly are made known, it is not a bad thing.
Totally agree. I wish more people would shine the light on illegal and/or unconstitutional government activities. Executive orders do not make such actions legal IMHO.
Quite right Dan – that surely is the guiding principle involved here.
RIGHT ON Dan and Terence!
THIS MAN ALREADY SERVED. SO WHY HASN’T HILLARY SERVED? WHAT SHE HAS DONE IS MORE DANGEROUS
TO THE COUNTRY AND IT’S PEOPLE?
Hillary knows so much on so many others in Government that they are making sure she doesn’t get prosecuted.
“And, Assange claims, that amounts to illegal detention.”
Assange is quite right, the British police do not have a right to threaten him with arrest when he has been charged with no crime. The Swedish police in response to belated rape allegations -first considered by their prosecuting authorities and found not to warrant action, then later when Assange had left Sweden for Britain they decided to act on – Assange believes at the instigation of the US authorities to enable them to more easily activate his extradition to America for his Wikileak exposures- these same rape charges and demanded his return to answer questions. In view of his suspicions Assange understandably refused to return but indicated that, in the customary way given these circumstances, he would make himself available for questioning by the Swedish prosecutors in Britain. This the Swedes would not accept, and aided and abetted by the British legal authorities -doubtless at the behest of America- sought to have him extradited to Sweden for questioning – still lacking sufficient evidence to charge him with any crime.
Instead Assange was offered and accepted sanctuary in the Ecuadorean Embassy where he has resided ever since under threat of being arrested by the British police if he steps outside. However it has now apparently been leaked that the UN panel looking into the legality of his present situation has found in his favour i.e. concluded that his de facto detention by the British authorities in the Ecuadorean Embassy is illegal and he should be allowed to leave and accept asylum in that country. So Assange is on safe ground in making the above offer subject to the panel’s decision. But the British police have indicated they will ignore this UN decision and arrest him if he ventures out.
Send him to Gitmo.
Why not?! Then obuma could use him to ‘trade’. Or, just because he is ‘imprisoned at git mo’ pardon him as a political move!!!