It doesn't say where he is going to go. It seems to be a plea for support rather than a bone fide plan. Can't imagine being constrained to the same place for 2 years, horrible stuff.
Yep. A lot like prison, in fact. Which raises an interesting question: As this drags on, at some point wouldn't it have been easier for him to cooperate, go to Sweden, and take his lumps? He could just about be out on parole by now; instead he still has it hanging over his head.
The whole thing seems very short sighted; the UK and Sweden aren't going to just get bored. Is he hoping to drag things out until he dies, or what?
If he goes to Sweden (which I would consider highly likely if he in fact does exit the embassy and gets apprehended by the UK authorities) I suspect the chances of him doing any significant jail time as a result of the case there are slim, so then the only thing that he should still be worried about is eventual extradition to the US on charges still to be brought, but the spotlight will be very much on Sweden pulling any fast ones in the extradition process there.
Time will tell.
That's entirely impossible under EU law. If extradited to UK to Sweden, he can ONLY be extradited from Sweden with the consent of the UK.
Scenario A: The UK would agree (in which case, he didn't need to be extradited to Sweden, as he was already in UK custody).
Scenario B: The UK would not agree (in which case, he cannot be extradited from Sweden).
Nobody has ever been able to outline any way in which being extradited to Sweden could have increased his risk of being extradited to the US. If the US even wanted him; the UK is well known for rolling over to US extradition requests, and he was in UK custody for an extended period of time. The obvious conclusion is that the US is not especially eager to get their hands on him, since they didn't actually try.
"Any extradition from Sweden to the United States would actually be more difficult. [...] there is no evidence whatsoever that the United Kingdom would not swiftly comply with any extradition request from the United States [...] the best opportunity for the United States for Assange to be extradited is whilst he is in the United Kingdom."
Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/david-allen-green/2012/08/legal-...
When has the law ever got in the way? Governments can no longer be trusted. Only within the last week it was revealed the the UK tried to have evidence that they allowed the US to torture people on a UK owned island redacted from reports.
I've always been for big government/welfare state etc. but recently I've been becoming more and more libertarian. Politicians are untrustworthy and arguably evil people. They don't give one shit about us unless they are running for election. In that case they will lie and promise and then break those promises when we elect them. I've come to the conclusion that although I want a government that helps it's citizens and I'm fine with paying high taxes for that it's no longer worth the risk to our freedom.
No it isn't. You have admitted yourself that it would be possible if the UK gave consent (which they would).
> The obvious conclusion is that the US is not especially eager to get their hands on him, since they didn't actually try.
This is by no means obvious. There is an ongoing Grand Jury investigation into Wikileaks. These typically take a long time, and it was likely not complete when the Swedish extradition request was made. It seems plausible that the US will wait until after the Swedish investigation has played out before serving their own warrant.
edit: The New Statesman article you referenced has a large inaccuracy. Details: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/24/new-sta...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05...
Highly illegal, and had our foreign minister not been murdered, she would have been held accountable as there was a huge outrage over the whole debacle. To me this says two things: 1) "the law" didn't mean much last time, so Assange is right to be careful 2) his public profile together with the last incident in fresh memory means he is probably at very little risk to be treated illegally in Sweden, especially as elections are coming up in September.
My guess: he'll go to Sweden, he'll be questioned by police, then let go. Seeing as he spent a couple of years hiding to avoid this, he will probably find this surprising, and no one else will.
Only during the investigation and any subsequent criminal proceeding in Sweden. After these are completed, or abandoned, he could be extradited from Sweden to the US. From the blog post linked in section two of the New Statesman article:
"After the investigation and any criminal proceedings in Sweden end, that restriction also ends and the Swedes can extradite him without reference to the UK government. But neither Sweden and the UK will extradite anyone to a country where the accused is in peril of the death sentence if convicted of an offence, or where prison conditions are so bad as to breach his rights under Article 3 of the ECHR (‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’)." [1]
[1] http://ffgqc.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/julian-the-asylum-seek...
Anyways, I'd rather sit in a room for the rest of my life than to face what could await him in the US:
Solitary confinement for the rest of his life (if not, maybe being raped), torture, forcing him to answer prison wards every 30 minutes - even during nights - to make sure he doesn't commit suicide (that's what they did to Manning)
I'd probably even prefer suicide to that treatment.
iirc uk police were waiting outside for him to leave. he'll get detained once he sets foot outside of the embassy.
In the two years Assange was imprisoned in a Embassy, he lifted 5 times a week. He also changed his wardrobe to black suits and black shades. His hair also changed: It was now completely missing, Julian now wore a bald head.
Today was the day. He had to leave the Embassy and step out to Great Britain's soil. These Brits where always waiting for him outside, always eager to attain him.
But lucky for Assange, nobody expected him to be a personal body guard of a leaving diplomat. He just walked outside with the other guards and nobody checked his papers. No Officer recognized him or expected a nerd with muscles. After some meters, he split up from the group and vanished in the streets of London.
Rumors say, even today he is roaming the streets, assassinating US spies and lobbyists.
I prefer the version where Anonymous sends 1000 Julian Assange lookalikes to flood the embassy's entrance and that allows for Julian to escape through the sewer