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QUITO, Ecuador (2nd UPDATE) – Ecuador decided Thursday, August 16, to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who sought refuge in the country’s embassy in Britain to avert extradition to Sweden.
“The Ecuador government, loyal to its tradition to protect those who seek refuge with us at our diplomatic missions, has decided to grant diplomatic asylum to Mr Assange,” Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said at a news conference.
Patino said his government reached its decision after Britain, Sweden and the United States refused to provide guarantees that Assange would not be extradited to the United States where he fears trial for the release of a trove of classified US documents.
“If he were extradited to the United States, Mr Assange would not receive a fair trial (and) could be judged by special tribunals or military courts,” he said.
“It is not implausible that he would be subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and be condemned to life in prison or capital punishment.”
Britain ordered Assange extradited to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning about allegations of rape and sexual assault, after he had exhausted all legal appeals.
He then turned up at the Ecuadoran embassy in London on June 19, and requested political asylum.
Patino said Assange’s imprisonment in Sweden “would open up a chain of events that would impede his avoiding extradition to a third country.”
“As a result, Ecuador feels his arguments mean his fears are genuine, that he could be the victim of political persecution because of his decisive defense of the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press,” he said.
Regional meeting
On Sunday, the South American regional bloc UNASUR will hold a ministerial session of on Ecuador’s decision.
A foreign ministry source said Brazil has been asked to attend the meeting of UNASUR foreign ministers, but that no decision had been made as to who would represent Brazil — Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota or another official.
The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) groups Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay. – Agence France-Presse
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