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UN Human Rights Working Group demands UK release Julian Assange

thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Just a few hours ago, the UN updated and reiterated its 2016 findings that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, has been unlawfully and arbitrarily detained since 2012 in the Ecuadorian embassy, and has a right to both free release and compensation. Since Swedish prosecutors dropped their rape investigation in 2017, the UK has affirmed that they will still arrest Assange on bail violation charges if he exits the embassy. The UN has rejected the UK's position:

“... the only ground remaining for Mr. Assange’s continued deprivation of liberty is a bail violation in the UK, which is, objectively, a minor offence that cannot post facto justify the more than six years confinement that he has been subjected to since he sought asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador,” the U.N. experts said in a statement.
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Since 2012, Assange has expressed concern that if arrested by Sweden or the UK, he will be extradited to the US and tried on charges related to Wikileaks' publications, not the rape allegations. Today's report validates Assange's concerns:

In April 2017, in his first public speech since becoming head of the CIA, Mr. Michael Pompeo described Wikileaks as a “hostile intelligence service” which claimed to act in the name of the defence of freedom of expression, freedom of information and privacy. The same month, the US Attorney General stated that it was a US priority to arrest and detain Julian Assange. On 15 November 2018, evidence emerged that the US Department of Justice was preparing an indictment against him but the charges have remained classified.
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Though the UK is likely to ignore this report, the UN affirms that their findings are not discretionary but in fact binding treaty law:
“As the High Commissioner for human rights said several years ago, human rights treaty law is binding law, it is not discretionary law. It is not some passing fancy that a state can apply sometimes and not in the other,” the experts recalled.
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Finally, the UN has reiterated Assange's rights to freedom of opinion and expression as a journalist:
It is time that Mr. Assange, who has already paid a high price for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of opinion, expression and information, and to promote the right to truth in the public interest, recovers his freedom
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Reuters summary:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-b...to-leave-ecuador-embassy-freely-idUKKCN1OK1U1

Today's Full UN statement (worth a full read):
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24042&LangID=E

2016 UN OHCHR finding that Assange is "arbitrarily detained":
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17013
 
TheCrackInTime

TheCrackInTime

Member
Oct 28, 2017
263
The UK isn’t holding him. He voluntarily detained himself inside the Ecuador’s embassy to avoid lawful arrest.
 
KHarvey16

KHarvey16

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,241
This group has been running with this awhile and it’s always treated exactly as it should be by being ignored.
 
Uzzy

Uzzy

Gabe’s little helper
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,534
Hull, UK
Sooo the UN are wanting the UK police to break into the Ecuadorian embassy and rescue him from his voluntary stay there? Strange.
 
null

null

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,589
Nobody is stopping him. When he leaves he'll get a slap on the wrist for the bail thing and then he's free to bugger off.
 
jelly

jelly

Member
Oct 26, 2017
20,438
So what if the UK or the US want to talk to him. He isn't going to be bag and tagged without just cause. He isn't coming out because Assange is likely very guilty of being a Russian stooge working with other stooges 'please god, let Farage be one'. I don't know why Ecuador don't just pack his bags and walk him out to the curb.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
null said:
but he doesn't need to be in custody for that to happen. If the US think he's committed a crime and want to extradite him they can apply for a warrant, right? they could do that regardless of what the UK do.
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They could, but they'd be creating an international incident.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Walter White Walker said:
The UK isn't holding him, he's holding himself in the Ecuadorian embassy. Stay classy, though, UN.
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The point of the report is that this take is incorrect. And they go further in their criticism of the UK:

States that are based upon and promote the rule of law do not like to be confronted with their own violations of the law, that is understandable. But when they honestly admit these violations, they do honour the very spirit of the rule of law, earn enhanced respect for doing so, and set worldwide commendable examples
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ginger ninja

ginger ninja

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,631
This agency can fuck off and so can Julian. He is a self serving drama queen mascrading as a martyr and journalist. If he had ANY balls, he would have left the embassy long ago to deal with the situation one way or another, instead he got the poor Ecudorians in a bind too. Not that they didn't deserve this, this whole idea and plan from the start up was throughly stupid. Fuck him.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,745
thebishop said:
imo it's more likely the US' charges relate to the "Vault7" reports on CIA malware than the DNC emails, but we're both speculating now.
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It's not, it's accidentally come out that Mueller appears to have sealed indictments with his name on them via copy/paste text on other court filings that kept his name in accidentally.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Kirblar said:
And he deserves it for his role in the 2016 DNC hack and other electoral interference.
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The only "role" anyone has demonstrated is that Wikileaks received the DNC emails and published them. This is not a crime, and those documents aren't even classified. Like I said a second ago, the Vault7 publications are far more sensitive. I know a lot of people believe that Assange/Wikileaks played some direct role in procuring/hacking the DNC emails but that's pure speculation contradicted by the Mueller indictment of the 12 GRU agents.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,745
thebishop said:
The only "role" anyone has demonstrated is that Wikileaks received the DNC emails and published them. This is not a crime, and those documents aren't even classified. Like I said a second ago, the Vault7 publications are far more sensitive. I know a lot of people believe that Assange/Wikileaks played some direct role in procuring/hacking the DNC emails but that's pure speculation contradicted by the Mueller report.
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Yes, and that makes them complicit in laundering the hacked documents. Assange decided to turn them into an arm of Russian intelligence, and he deserves to face the consequences for that choice.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Kirblar said:
Yes, and that makes them complicit in laundering the hacked documents. Assange decided to turn them into an arm of Russian intelligence, and he deserves to face the consequences for that choice.
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"complicit in laundering the hacked documents" is another way of saying "they published anonymous leaks". This is a regular practice of journalist outlets. Here's a a rephrase of your claim: "The New York Times was complicit in laundering Trump's tax returns"

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
 
Hodgy

Hodgy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,843
UK
he broke the law in the UK by skipping bail, he cant just hide in an embassy to get above the law.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,745
thebishop said:
"complicit in laundering the hacked documents" is another way of saying "they published anonymous leaks". This is a regular practice of journalist outlets. Here's a a rephrase of your claim: "The New York Times was complicit in laundering Trump's tax returns"

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
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Julian Assange is not a Journalist. Wikileaks is not a Journalistic institution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks#Promotion_of_conspiracy_theories

They are a propaganda machine that actively redacts their "leaks", have no problem posting anti-semitic shit or Seth Rich conspiracties, and who were actively pushing for a Trump victory in 2016. https://theintercept.com/2018/02/14/julian-assange-wikileaks-election-clinton-trump/

Calling them journalists is an insult to journalists.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Kirblar said:
Julian Assange is not a Journalist. Wikileaks is not a Journalistic institution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks#Promotion_of_conspiracy_theories

They are a propaganda machine that actively redacts their "leaks", have no problem posting anti-semitic shit or Seth Rich conspiracties, and who were actively pushing for a Trump victory in 2016. https://theintercept.com/2018/02/14/julian-assange-wikileaks-election-clinton-trump/

Calling them journalists is an insult to journalists.
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Setting aside whether this is a fair characterization of Assange/WL, none of what you described is criminal. Alex Jones and his crew of flunkies say much dumber shit than you described, and I hope nobody here believes they should be imprisoned.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Kirblar said:
He has not been detained for 6 years. He is free to leave the embassy at any point.
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Hi there friend. The topic of this thread is that a United Nations special investigation has determined that Julian Assange is not free to leave the embassy at any point, and has in fact been unlawfully detained for 6 years.
 
Swiggins

Swiggins

was promised a tag
Member
Apr 10, 2018
6,977
thebishop said:
Thanks for your legal opinion. The maximum sentence for the bail violation is 3 months. Assange has been unlawfully detained for 6 years.
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He's not being unlawfully detained, his own arrogance and paranoia is keeping him in that embassy, he's not being held there against his will, he's in there BECAUSE he wills it.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,745
thebishop said:
Setting aside whether this is a fair characterization of Assange/WL, none of what you described is criminal. Alex Jones and his crew of flunkies say much dumber shit than you described, and I hope nobody here believes they should be imprisoned.
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Colluding with a foreign power actively seeking to influence US elections absolutely is criminal. As is colluding with a Presidential campaign.
 
Dingens

Dingens

Circumventing ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,018
these threads are always especially scary...
Human rights apply to anyone, assholes included. And suggesting to just ignore the UN is just baffling.

jelly said:
So what if the UK or the US want to talk to him. He isn't going to be bag and tagged without just cause. [...]
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Tell that to those in Gitmo and other blacksites

Vixdean said:
They are right, release him into US custody, where he belongs. Snowden too.
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The hell?
This community is starting to disappoint me deeply
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
Kirblar said:
Colluding with a foreign power actively seeking to influence US elections absolutely is criminal. As is colluding with a Presidential campaign.
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None of this has been demonstrated by the Mueller investigation or any other investigation. If it's true that the Russian GRU hacked the DNC/Podesta emails and leaked them to wikileaks, it is not a crime for Wikileaks to publish those documents. The government has unfortunately taken steps to criminalize the possession/publication of *classified* documents, but the application of those laws is still in flux, and at any rate the DNC/Podesta emails were not classified.
 
cakely

cakely

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,103
Chicago
He works for Russian Intelligence and is free to leave the embassy any time he’d like.

He made his choices and deserves no sympathy.
 
junomars

junomars

Banned
Nov 19, 2018
723
Dingens said:
these threads are always especially scary...
Human rights apply to anyone, assholes included. And suggesting to just ignore the UN is just baffling.


Tell that to those in Gitmo and other blacksites



The hell?
This community is starting to disappoint me deeply
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The UN's arguments fall flat on their face. He's not confined, he requested and was granted asylum and is free to walk out at anytime. He hasn't served any jail time.
 
Lothars

Lothars

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,400
thebishop said:
I'm not interested in defending the personality of Julian Assange or Wikileak's twitter. It's irrelevant to whether or not the UK can continue holding Assange in a legal black hole for years on a minor procedural charge. I think Seth Rich conspiracy theories are dumb.
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He's not illegally detained, he can leave when he wants.
Dingens said:
these threads are always especially scary...
Human rights apply to anyone, assholes included. And suggesting to just ignore the UN is just baffling.


Tell that to those in Gitmo and other blacksites



The hell?
This community is starting to disappoint me deeply
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He's not a prisoner. If he wants to leave he can and should than.
 
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thebishop

thebishop

Member
Nov 10, 2017
2,362
junomars said:
The UN's arguments fall flat on their face. He's not confined, he requested and was granted asylum and is free to walk out at anytime. He hasn't served any jail time.
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The UK has refused Assange safe passage to Ecuador, where he has been granted citizenship. That's the point. He is being detained.
 
PixelatedProphet

PixelatedProphet

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,103
Konoha
Did the emails really make a lot of people other than the few "Bernie or never" people not vote for her? I'm sure republican voters didn't need emails to tell them to not vote for someone they already weren't gonna vote for.

Wikileaks isn' t the same as it once was which is why i think Assange should give up control to another member however there is a difference between you can leave* and you can leave.
 
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