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No US hint of extraditing Julian Assange: Carr
The US government has given no hint it wants to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over the release of secret diplomatic cables, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.
THE US government has given no hint it wants to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over the release of secret diplomatic cables, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.
Senator Carr says two discussions with American officials have not indicated any plan to extradite Mr Assange to the US.
“There is not the remotest evidence that is the case,” he told ABC TV on Sunday.
Mr Assange has been at Ecuador’s embassy in London since 19 June as the South American nation considers his application for political asylum.
Ecuador’s ambassador to the UK, Anna Alban, travelled from London to her nation’s capital at the weekend to brief President Rafael Correa on Mr Assange’s request.
Dr Correa has said his government will consider the claim for political asylum but not when a decision would be made.
The country’s embassy said Ms Alban would hold meetings with foreign affairs officials in the capital, Quito, before briefing Dr Correa.
“She will also fully brief the president on her recent meeting with officials of the UK government,” it said in a statement on Saturday.
The asylum bid is a late effort by Mr Assange to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sex-crime allegations he says are baseless.
The Australian-born 40-year-old fears removal to Sweden could pave the way for extradition to the US, where he would face possible charges – and a possible death sentence – over the WikiLeaks release of secret diplomatic cables.
Senator Carr said the US could have asked the UK government to extradite Mr Assange over the two years the WikiLeaks founder had been in London.
“There is a view that it would be easier for the US to extradite him from the UK rather than from Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about (matters) wholly unrelated to anything to do with WikiLeaks or state secrets,” he said.
But Senator Carr said some US authorities had yet to state that they were not interested in extraditing the Australian.
“They haven’t been able to rule out that one corner of the American administration is considering it, but I would expect the US wouldn’t want to touch this,” he said.
Senator Carr said the US government knew Australia’s “well worn” position of not wanting Mr Assange extradited from anywhere.
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said Australia had not abandoned Mr Assange but did believe he needed to comply with other countries’ laws.
“There is nothing the Australian government can currently do that it has not been doing,” Ms Roxon told Network Ten.
“He’s not in Australia and he’s not charged with an Australian offence.”
Ms Roxon said Mr Assange being overseas made more difficult the government’s job of ensuring he received a proper and fair process.
“Australia has a lot of control and ability to protect its citizens if they are pursued for a political offence (while here),” she said.
Mr Assange was likely to be arrested once he stepped outside the diplomatic protection of the Ecuadorian embassy as he has breached his bail conditions, Scotland Yard said. – AAP
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2 Comments
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE
16/ 08/ 2012
You are still so Great Britain & America. You speak as usual, wih Forked Tongue!
We simply Love your Great hypocricies and abuses against the Wrong People in
Society.
You certainly know when to violate people’s Human & Civil Rights – when They
Are the Innocent ones! with your ‘civilized’ enforced, Dogmatic & Hard-handed bullying as I have also experienced from yourselves.
Yes but of course William Hague & Co. you ‘will Not give Julian Assange safe
passage Out Of…….UK’ to a SAFE and DECENT place and peoples, because he is Not a Criminal or a Terrorist.
This is what Great British Apartheid Laws & Practices comprise.
Suddenly you are willing to arrest him for Another Country, yet you also have a
history of harbouring and protecting criminals And terrorists? Just Who are
you Fooling? You are such a good example to your own present, criminal and terrorist created World.
Your gangsterly threats to attack and enforcibly pull him out of the decent
Ecuadorian Embassy as you have done to so many of Us too, this morning,
As per your Great British Apartheid policies & practices and you even illegally
arrest the peaceful protesters as well.
Is this what you call Freedom?
You certainly are the Great example of your so-called ‘Democracy’ of Brit & Brit American Nazi-Communism, to the other Countries, yet you still blame the previous SA government only, for your gynormous evils.
You ONLY, as usual Own and Control/ have the Freedom of Information to posess and publish all the film footages on Hitler & his Nazi-Communist guys Committing their evils, yet Nobody is allowed to do the same to/ about your-
Selves? So More double standards and meanings abound, in this regard too.
Why do you love your culture of Wars, and power abuses against decent, innocent
& vulnerable people, since 1700’s, mostly?
Claudine Fourie
The International South African
Independent Chief Commissioner
This being the case, then it proves once more how the British Authorities continue with it’s immoral, illegal, LIES and abuses against decent, innocent & vulnerable people. They are blatant gangsters [Bullies] still, who only love ad protect terrorists & criminals, such as themselves!
As I was in London – On Thursday, I went to the said Police Station, where they had demanded Julian hand himself over for their further immoral, illegal abuses against him and I demanded that they explain themselves to me in this regard, but the lying bullies told me that it was a ‘Private’ case.
I said that it was NOT and that even if it were the case, I still had a right to know their side of the story, but they then gave me a stupid tel no – their ‘press’ office, instead. I told them that they ‘were indeed. Nazi-Communists’.
In the Old South Africa, I was always treated with respect by the SAP who immediately offered me a cup of tea and sat down explaining the cases accordingly to myself, for me to then assess.
This proves again, that Britain knows nothing about Democracy and Proper Justice & Human & Civil Rights for people who are in the Right!