Free WikiLeaks’ Assange and compensate him, United Nations says

Pro-Assange demonstrators in London

This photo shows pro-Julian Assange demonstrators in London, England. They have Guy Fawkes masks on. Their ‘I’m Julian!’ signs allude to the ‘I am Spartacus!‘ line from the film Spartacus.

From The Verge:

UN: Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained and deserves compensation

WikiLeaks founder has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012

By Amar Toor on February 5, 2016 03:31 am

A United Nations panel has determined that Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been living since 2012. In a report published today, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) said that Sweden and the UK should compensate Assange for the detention, though the ruling is not legally binding. British authorities have said they will arrest Assange if he leaves the embassy.

Swedish authorities have sought to question Assange, 44, on an accusation of rape, but the Australian national has denied the claim and fears extradition to the US, where he could face charges related to the troves of diplomatic cables that WikiLeaks began publishing in 2010.

In a statement released Friday, the UNWGAD said that Sweden and the UK should work to guarantee Assange’s “safety and physical integrity, to facilitate the exercise of his right to freedom of movement in an expedient manner, and to ensure the full enjoyment of his rights guaranteed by the international norms on detention.” Assange’s legal team filed a complaint with the panel in 2014, saying that being confined to the embassy had taken a “significant toll” on his health.

In a statement published to the WikiLeaks Twitter account this week, Assange said he should be allowed to leave the embassy if the panel ruled in his favor. …

“To go against a decision would be to go against a unit of the United Nations, and their own interpretation of human rights,” Per Samuelsson, a lawyer for Assange, told The New York Times yesterday.

MILLIONS of pounds spent by police monitoring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for three years could have been better used for front-line police duties, Baroness Jones said yesterday: here.

UK and Swedish governments continue their persecution of Julian Assange: here.

US government jet lay in wait for Snowden in Copenhagen. Danish government reveals agreement to cooperate over extradition in the event whistleblower arrived in Scandinavia: here.

New York Times launches McCarthyite witch-hunt against Julian Assange: here.

Assange Proves Innocence: SMS Records Show He Was Framed by Police in Rape Cases. December 8, 2016: here.