It has been two years now that Julian Assange has been living secluded in the Embassy of Equator in London. This Wednesday, the co-founder of WikiLeaks has given a press conference by phone call to ensure that he is cooperating with Edward Snowden and to defend his name against defamation attempts. Julian Assange ensured journalists that WikiLeaks is still alive, even though the website is less active now than it has been in the past.
He underlined that, since 2013, WikiLeaks extended its activities to the « protection of Edward Snowden », under the form of judicial assistance. Mr. Snowden, who is being prosecuted by the US for its revelations on NSA spying, is currently in Russia. When he arrived on Russian territory, Sarah Harrisson, law counsellor for WikiLeaks, accompanied Edward Snowden in his procedure, but links between WikiLeaks and him seem weak.
« By doing so, I believe that we demonstrated the excellency of our work », estimated Mr. Assange, who refused to say if he was in direct contact with Mr. Snowden. He also mentioned « ongoing research projects », without any other precision.
ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOUR YEARS AGO
Stuck in the flat used as an embassy by Equator in the high-end Knightsbridge area, Julian Assange has acknowledged he suffered “some difficulties” because of his situation. “But on the other side, unlike other journalists working on national security […], I cannot be called to appear in court, the police cannot knock on our door, neither on day neither on night”. “There are people in a more difficult situation”, he also said, mentioning US soldier Chelsea Manning, who had been condemned to 35 years of jail in martial court for having transmitted to WikiLeaks classified files the website then published.
Mr. Assange took refuge on June 19, 2012, in a flat which has diplomatic inviolability, to escape extradition to Sweden, where he is faced with accusations of rape and sexual assault, which he denies. He says he is fearing extradition and prosecution in the USA. His lawyers announced they will file a challenge to his detention order in Sweden, hoping to cancel his arrest order in the country, an order which was emitted almost four years ago. But the founder of WikiLeaks said that “even if we succeed in overturning the arrest warrant, I still have a more important problem coming from the USA, with their ongoing procedure and perhaps an extradition warrant”, alluding to the investigation undertaken by a US “grand jury” against WikiLeaks.
He then summoned the US Attorney General Eric Holder to “immediately drop the national security investigation against WikiLeaks or to resign”. And he accused London to have “unilaterally cancelled” a working group that had been set up with Equator to try to find an issue to the deadlock : indeed, while the country of Rafael Correa has granted him asylum, the United Kingdom intends to arrest him whenever he sets foot out of the embassy.
DIPLOMATIC “DIALOGUE OF THE DEAF”
The British Foreign Office denied such cancellation, and ensured “staying as committed as always to finding a diplomatic solution to this situation”. “We still count on Equator to help putting an end to the difficult and costly residence of Mr. Assange”, said a Foreign Office spokesperson. In what sounded like a dialogue of the deaf, the Equatorian president, Rafael Correa, stated again his support to Julian Assange, ensuring him that he “could stay in the embassy as long as needed”. He added that “the solution is in the hands of Europe, especially the UK and Sweden”, accusing them of “playing with the rights of an human being, who spent two years confined in small rooms”.
