Julian Assange’s five-year standoff with police could end today when a court decides whether the warrant for his arrest should be quashed, potentially paving the way for him to leave Ecuador’s London embassy.
The WikiLeaks founder applied to have the warrant for skipping bail quashed, which would allow him to leave the Knightsbridge building, where he hid seeking asylum in 2012, without fear of arrest.
His lawyers argued the warrant was invalid because Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigation over sexual assault and rape claims against Assange.
He claimed going to Sweden could mean extradition to the United States over the massive leak of information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars Wikileaks published in conjunction with newspapers in 2010.
Last month, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he was suffering from depression, a frozen shoulder and painful toothache since hiding out in the embassy since June 2012.
Assange’s lawyer Mark Summers told the court that the bail arrest warrant had “lost its purpose and its function” when Sweden withdrew the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).
But Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer Aaron Watkins told the court it would be “absurd” if a defendant was effectively rewarded for managing to evade proceedings for sufficiently long that they fell away.
Watkins said the case against Assange was “extremely simple” in that he had failed to surrender to custody in answer to bail, therefore the warrant still stood.
When asked if a successful ruling would mean Assange to walk free, a CPS spokesman said: “Hypothetically yes, that would be our interpretation.”
Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot is due to hand down her judgment at 2pm on Tuesday. Either side could appeal the verdict.
Assange walked into the embassy in June 2012, seeking asylum, after he unsuccessfully fought his extradition through the English courts.
His time inside the embassy has been marked by regular appearances at its balcony to address crowds of supporters who have gathered at various stages of his legal battles.
For three years, the Metropolitan Police maintained a permanent guard outside the embassy in case he came out but stopped in 2015, citing the cost.
In 2016, a UN panel concludes Assange was being arbitrarily detained and called on Swedish and British authorities to end Assange’s “deprivation of liberty”.
The Foreign Office condemned this, saying it “completely rejects any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention”.
They added Assange was “in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy”.
In May last year, Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said she was withdrawing the EAW because Assange’s refusal to come to Sweden meant “all possibilities to advance the investigation have now been exhausted”.
This meant the bail warrant was the only thing keeping Assange in the embassy.
British police have said the charge of skipping bail is a much less serious offence than rape but Assange could still face up to a year in jail if convicted.
Ecuador awarded Assange citizenship in January, hours after the British government refused a request for him to be given diplomatic status, which would have given Assange immunity from arrest.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.