Bolivia Demands Assange Apologize For Deliberately False Leaks To the US

Rei writes In 2013, during Edward Snowden's brief and chaotic search for asylum that ultimately landed him in Russia, the US faced criticism for handing information to various European nations that Bolivian president Evo Morales was smuggling him out of Russia, leading to the grounding of his flight. In a new twist, in the documentary Terminal F about this time period, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange admitted that he was the one who deliberately leaked the fake information to the US government. Bolivia has been none too pleased with this news and is now demanding that Assange apologize for putting their president's life at risk.

Comments

Apologies already offered

[tomhath]

Morales has already gotten apologies from the countries involved. The new information here is that Assange lied in an effort to precipitate an incident like this.

I know you didn't ask wanting an answer

[Anonymous Coward]

But you're going to get one anyway.

Sweden have this law that they can extradite people back to their country of origin if they committed an offence in the country, but IF they're wanted by someone else for a crime, they can extradite to that third party country. What Sweden are doing is NOT charging him, since if they did, they'd have to send him to court FIRST, and if they find him guilty, would have to jail him first. But as long as they don't actually charge him, they can just kick him out. HOWEVER, they can't kick him out (to the USA who will then issue a warrant for his arrest to get Assange) unless he's in their country. Therefore the insistence they have to interview him on Swedish soil, not foreign soil.

The UK, meanwhile, have an extradition treaty that requires it to be illegal in the UK, and that there be some proof to make the call. And you can appeal the extradition order - except in some cases, which has actually caused many problems for the Labour government when they handed people over to the USA without any evidence. Therefore politically unsound to just insist that Assange should be given to the USA.

Sweden, as long as there's the accusation of a serious crime against him, can be exported out on the terms of the court or political class and no appeal: he's not allowed to stay in the country. They just move him to the USA who asked to have him.

Re:hes not the one to blame.

[bill_mcgonigle]

By the way, has Bolivia asked for (and gotten) an apology from any of those countries?

According to reports, yes.

Assurances they'll never do such a thing again? Hardly. Violate the treaty and send the Ambassador to apologize.