Kristinn Hrafnsson Replaces Julian Assange as WikiLeaks Editor-In-chief | Hacker News Reader

Kristinn Hrafnsson Replaces Julian Assange as WikiLeaks Editor-In-chief

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27 pointsspking6 comments

It is unreal Assange has been essentially detained for nearly 6 years and had even more of his freedom taken away for not standing trial in a foreign country. I am surprised he was able to maintain operational control of wikileaks this long with all of the incoming lines of communication running through a heavily monitored building in a 5 eyes country and round the clock surveillance.

Hopefully Kristinn will run the organisation well and continue the mission. While Assange did seem to disproportionately leak damaging material about the countries he perceived to be collaborating against him, i think its pretty understandable given his situation.

Assange is not being detained and no one has taken his freedom away. He is where he is by his own volition.

The whole Assange thing is kind of messy. No, he's not detained, but nor is he free to leave the embassy. In 2006 the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded he has been subject to arbitrary detention by the UK and Swedish since 2010. But in all likely hood he published leaked emails with the express intent to hurt Clinton's campaign in 2016, albeit possibly not knowing the original source. But its within mission of the wikileaks to publish that sort of information. He did seek a Russian visa, but the number of countries that have the currently political power to resist EU & US pressure for extradition is pretty limited.

So much around him seems to be politically motivated, both proponents and detractors. I think the chances that we have a full and unadulterated idea of what is going on is pretty slim.

So ultimately ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

> In 2006(sic) the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded he has been subject to arbitrary detention by the UK and Swedish since 2010.

I have found it very difficult to understand the basis for this finding tbh.

He's not detained and he's perfectly free to leave the embassy. When he does he'll be charged with jumping bail, something the UK court system takes a dim view of. After that who knows.

This means less than nothing.

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