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Ecuador Cutting Off WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange's Communications Outside London Embassy (suntimes.com)

The government of Ecuador said on Wednesday it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks, saying that he was putting the country's international relations at risk. In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country's relations with other states. From a report: As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries. Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy for more than five years.

23 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Now, he is in prison by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If he has no means to communicate with the outside world or to travel freely...that's the definition of incarceration. Finally.

    1. Re:Now, he is in prison by bobbied · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He can walk out the front door anytime he wishes...

      (sarc)Trading the Gilded cage in the embassy for a British jail cell? Yea, he's "free" to choose. (/sarc)

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Now, he is in prison by bobbied · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If he does walk out the front door it will be straight into the arms of waiting UK police...

      I'm sure the Brits will "deal" with him if he does and I'm guessing that will include an all expense paid trip to the USA and any number of federal prisons for the majority of his remaining life.

      So, it's the embassy or a "real" prison. Some choice the guy has left himself. He might have been better served by keeping a low internet profile...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    3. Re:Now, he is in prison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I have little sympathy for those who flee from justice and hide out trying to avoid responsibility for their actions.

    4. Re:Now, he is in prison by Archtech · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You do know that the US currently does not, nor has ever had an extradition order on him, right?

      Nor, AFAIK, on any of the people languishing (if that's the word I'm looking for) in Guantanamo.

      So what?

      --
      I am sure that there are many other solipsists out there.
    5. Re:Now, he is in prison by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He is probably too paranoid for cell phones. He will also need to actually trust people for memory card swap.

      He is a prisoner of his own device.

      Welcome to the Hotel Ecuador UK

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:Now, he is in prison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I was unaware that we were currently involved in armed combat with anyone residing within the UK. If we're involved in active combat currently in the UK, please do provide a link.

      Guantanamo is a military prison, so to end up there, you must somehow get detained by our military. This isn't a discussion on if you agree with it or not, simply a statement on how you end up there. Since our military is not currently involved in combat operations within the UK, Assanage would not end up there.

    7. Re:Now, he is in prison by arth1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Guantanamo is a military prison, so to end up there, you must somehow get detained by our military. This isn't a discussion on if you agree with it or not, simply a statement on how you end up there. Since our military is not currently involved in combat operations within the UK, Assanage would not end up there.

      This would be nice if it were true. However, several of the Guantanamo Bay detainees were arrested in countries where the US didn't have military combat operations, and brought to Afghanistan for bounty. Adel Noori is perhaps the most famous case.

    8. Re:Now, he is in prison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Name one other person who the UK government has spent more than 15 million pounds to apprehend for jumping bail based on a warrant for extradition that is no longer valid?

      A strawman, most of the costs spent (no idea if the 15 million is "accurate" or not) has been spent on trying to enforce the European arrest warrant, which they were legally obliged to do. The costs relating to the bail jumping isn't going to be anything like that.

      But if you want to follow that sort of logic. Name one other person accused in Sweden of a crime, had a European arrest warrant issued, who then skipped bail (leaving those who put the bail up out of pocket) and then camped out in the Ecuadorian embassy for years. Once you have that other comparable situation, we are closer to being able to compare expenditure.

    9. Re:Now, he is in prison by lucm · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Let's see. The situation is that he engaged twice in unprotected sex with girls that were asleep (which is essentially rape), then he ran away when he was accused rather than face these "unfair" accusations, then he hid in the embassy of a publicity-seeking diplomat, and remains there even though the rape charges in Sweden were abandoned because the prosecutor realized he would never appear in court to face the music before going past the statute of limitation.

      So at this point the reasons for him to remain "protected" in that embassy are:
      1) skipping bail on no longer relevant charges
      2) free food and hero status
      3) an alleged CIA conspiracy to send him to gitmo (or some other secret prison) because he took part in the leak of confidential documents under the obama administration

      You're allowed to cream over that buffoon all you want, but please let's stop pretending that there are "facts" supporting your worshipping.

      --
      lucm, indeed.
  2. Sometimes a paranoid kook is a paranoid kook. by jellomizer · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Assange is a Paranoid kook.
    Why would any government try to protect a guy who is against government. It is only matter of time, where he is going to bite you back, because he has no respect for anyone. And will do anything to express his narrative.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Sometimes a paranoid kook is a paranoid kook. by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2, Insightful

      For one thing, it's in weak countries' interest to have as much strife as much as possible between superpowers (US, Russia, China) as possible. If the big thugs are arguing amongst each other directly, they're less concerned about proxy wars and imperialism in places like Latin America. Keep 'em occupied and worried.

      Plus, it feels good to punch up as the little guy.

    2. Re:Sometimes a paranoid kook is a paranoid kook. by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      For one thing, it's in weak countries' interest to have as much strife as much as possible between superpowers (US, Russia, China) as possible. If the big thugs are arguing amongst each other directly, they're less concerned about proxy wars and imperialism in places like Latin America. Keep 'em occupied and worried.

      I tend to disagree. Strife between major powers often results in proxy wars simply because teh big powers have too much to lose so they support other countries and let them fight it out. They like the idea of a little power poking the eye of their enemy, it's less risky then an all out confrontation.

      Plus, it feels good to punch up as the little guy.

      Until, of course, the big guy punches back.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  3. Grow some balls by Stan92057 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Time for him to grow some balls and have his day in court. And im sure their are some Ecuadors who are in need of the funds their government is useing to keep him alive...

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
    1. Re:Grow some balls by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Considering that FISA courts do not try people I would say the chance if very good he'll never be convicted in one. FISA courts exist to grant surveillance requests.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  4. Re:Not very welcome by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Insightful

    He won't quit agitating. He is attacking people using his access and you can't blame Ecuador for getting tired of it.

  5. Free speech dies by micahraleigh · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you have something to say that makes the deep government or the DNC look bad, watch out !

    We can't have people in foreign countries doing exposes.

    The world has been inching to global totalitarianism since the 70s. This is just a new milestone.

  6. Violation of Assange's human rights by mi · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The government of Ecuador said on Wednesday it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange

    But, but, Internet access — fast Internet access — is a human right in better countries...

    Why has Julian lost his — with nary a protest?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  7. The worst in Slashdotters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems that the Assange topic brings out the really ugly in the Slashdot crowd: petty, bitter, cynical, superficial.

    Folks, sometimes you're really disgusting.

  8. Re:Wifi by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sure. He can just contact any ISP he wants to have one installed what is considered sovereign territory of Ecuador. The country won't mind. Also all ISPs would love to get entangled in an international incident.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  9. Forest from the trees [Re:Grow some balls] by Uberbah · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It was all in the link provided.

    1) Sweden goes to great trouble to get Pirate Bay founder in custody from Cambodia

    2) As soon as he arrives in Sweden, Svartholm is held in effective solitary confinement and interrogated for weeks without a lawyer on completely separate charges for Denmark. People have falsely confessed to murders they didn't commit in far less time.

    3) As soon as Svartholm's sentence in Sweden is finished, he was handed over to Danish authorities to be tried in that country for the aforementioned separate charges.

    So Assange haters should feel free to stop gaslighting people at any time. The man has perfectly valid fears about the Swedish farce being a pretext to hand him over to the United States.

  10. Re: Wifi by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes, being waterboarded at Gitmo and then executed for "treason" is how people embrace life. Bold words, AC.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  11. Re:Overstayed His Welcome by another_twilight · · Score: 2, Insightful

    His home country, Australia, has cowardly turned their back on him

    No. He was told that this was a criminal matter in Sweden, and then the UK. That if, at some point in the future he is charged by the US, that he can apply for a prisoner transfer to Australia.

    His narcissistic fantasies aside, he was wanted in relation to a criminal investigation, refused to return to Sweden, tried numerous avenues to avoid having to face the investigation and every court and legal opinion that he has asked to review the situation has responded in the same way.

    People facing criminal investigations do not get to set the terms of the investigation in any country I know of. Maybe the charges were politically motivated, maybe not. We'll never know. He's run away, left supporters liable for hundreds of thousands of pounds of bail and taken advantage of the hospitality of the Ecuadorean embassy. He's claimed persecution and asked for political asylum, but there's absolutely no evidence of any persecution.

    But the US wants Assange badly

    So Assange claims, and certainly several US figures have spoken out against him, but there's no warrant and no attempt to extradite him. So far all I've seen is a lot of rhetoric from someone whose other behaviour makes me question how much is real and how much is fantasies of self-importance.