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Ecuador Grants Citizenship To WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange (cbsnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the get-moving dept.

hcs_$reboot writes: Ecuador has granted citizenship to Julian Assange, who has been holed up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for over five years. Quito, Ecuador, has said naturalization should provide Assange with another layer of protection. However, naturalization appeared to do little to help the Australian-born WikiLeaks founder's case, with the British foreign ministry stressing that the only way to resolve the issue was for "Assange to leave the embassy to face justice." Earlier on Thursday, Britain said that it had refused a request by Ecuador to grant Assange diplomatic status, which would have granted him special legal immunity and the right to safe passage under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

4 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What if he actually WAS an ambassador? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

    They already asked for him to be recognised as an ambassador, and the UK rejected their request.

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  2. Re:What if he actually WAS an ambassador? by Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

    Where does this notion come from that a nation can "force" another nation to grant a particular individual diplomatic status? Diplomatic status is requested by the sending state, and then the nation in question either approves or denies their request.

    The exact same thing applies to asylum. You can say whatever you want about a person "having asylum". Nobody else has to listen to your declaration. Some states have treaties mutually recognizing each other's asylum cases, but the vast majority do not.

    And it's a damn good thing that international law works like this.

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    The chloride owes the sodium money.
  3. Re:Good by John.Banister · · Score: 4, Informative

    I believe Britain wants him for jumping bail.

  4. Re:Good by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Informative

    He still breached bail which in itself is a crime.

    Yes, and the charges he breached bail on have been withdrawn by prosecutors who passed up multiple opportunities to question him, on the basis that they could not question him. How it is just to punish someone for skipping bail when the charges have been withdrawn? If the charges were legitimate, why did the prosecutors pass up multiple opportunities to question him?

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