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Comment by atmosx | Hacker News Reader

Given the amount of pressure Wikileaks received and the open death threads from several US congressmen towards Assange, it's not a far-fetched assumptions.

The case was closed and re-opened if I'm not mistaken especially because it was Assange. I'm also quite sure Ecuador wouldn't wanna shelter a rapist.

So given the dynamics at play, it's safe to assume that there's more than a rape charge at stake.

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Ecuador sheltering Assange is more about Ecuador having a stronger bargaining chip with the US in future deals than anything else. Ecuador isn't some bastion of liberty. Far from it, actually. They're doing it to make a statement to the US and internally to themselves. I'd be willing to guess that Ecuador would turn Assange over to the US in a hot minute if the getting was good for them. I think the reality of this situation is that the US doesn't really want Assange all that much. He's a non-player wrt Wikileaks any more and people are already forgetting who he is.

>Ecuador sheltering Assange is more about Ecuador having a stronger bargaining chip with the US in future deals than anything else.

Only if it plans on handing him over. So, no. If anything it's a wonderful gesture from Ecuador that puts the country in WORSE bargaining position with the US.

>Ecuador isn't some bastion of liberty

It never helped establish dictatorships in other countries, so it has that going for it.

So just wild speculation then?

No, wild knowledge of precedents in European political history.

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