Login / RegisterWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador to avoid eventual U.S. prosecution
The man who embarrassed the most powerful governments in the world has sought refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London, England.
WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange is seeking asylum in the South American country after Britain's Supreme Court refused to block his extradition to Sweden.
He is wanted for questioning in Sweden after two women accused him of nonconsensual sex in 2010.
Assange has insisted that he's not guilty of any offence.
Assange's defenders claim that the U.S. has filed a sealed indictment in Virginia against him—and once he sets foot on Swedish soil, he could be extradited to the United States to be prosecuted.
The U.S.-based Centre for Constitutional Rights issued a statement in February saying that this sealed indictment "would underscore the very thing Wikileaks has been fighting against: abuses the government commits in an environment of secrecy and expansive, reflexive calls for 'national security.' From the shocking, inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning, to secret grand jury proceedings...the government's conduct in this case reveals why more transparency, not more secrecy, is essential."
"Rather than promoting transparency as promised, the Obama administration has aggressively pursued whistleblowers and dissenters, launching Espionage Act prosecutions twice as many times as all previous administrations in the last century combined," the CCR stated. "Attorney General Eric Holder should rethink this dangerous course. Instead of pursuing Julian Assange, Mr. Holder should investigate the serious crimes and abuse of government authority exposed by Wikileaks."
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