WikiLeaks has quoted a “high-level” Ecuadorian government source as saying that Julian Assange could be imminently expelled from Ecuador’s London embassy and that Quito has an agreement with the UK to arrest him.
Scene outside London embassy at 4:30 am Friday morning. (Ruptly/YouTube screenshot)
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
WikiLeaks warned Thursday that its founder “will be expelled within ‘hours to days'” from Ecuador’s London embassy and that Ecuador has an agreement with Britain to have him arrested.
President Lenin Moreno will use the pretext of a scandal engulfing his presidency to oust Assange, a “high level source” in the Ecuador government told WikiLeaks.
BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within "hours to days" using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext–and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.https://t.co/adnJph79wq
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 4, 2019
Moreno has accused WikiLeaks of leaking documents allegedly implicating him and his family in a corruption scheme with a Panamanian investment firm, INA Investments Corp. WikiLeaks has denied being behind the leaks and no documents related to the scandal appear on its website.
Moreno said the alleged leak by WikiLeaks is a breach in a “protocol” with Assange that allows him to remain in the London embassy in exchange for his public silence on all political matters. Assange has never agreed to the protocol. His social media accounts were shut down by Ecuador in March 2018.
Because of this so-called “breach,” Assange will be made to leave the embassy and would be arrested by British authorities. Assange has been a refugee inside the embassy since 2012, fearing that if he were to be arrested the UK would extradite him to the United States to stand trail for publishing classified information.
Last week Assange engaged in a shouting match with Ecuador’s ambassador inside the embassy. The move to expel Assange has been building for months. Last week Defend Assange, a publication of WikiLeaks-linked Courage Foundation, reported:
“On 28 March, Communications Minister Andrés Michelena told CNN Español that the INApapers were part of a plot [by] Julian Assange, Venezuelan President Maduro and former Ecuadorian President Correa to bring down Moreno’s government. [Michelena] added, ‘You have to understand how these people are connected, Mr. Assange is the Troll Center, the hacker for former President Correa, [Assange] handles the technological and social media side.’
That same day, the national assembly, in which Moreno’s party and other right parties command a majority, passed a resolution inviting the Foreign Ministry to take action against Assange’s asylum on the basis of the INApapers leak “in the national interest” if it considers it pertinent to do so.”
Supporters of WikiLeaks and Assange rapidly called for an increased presence at the Ecuadorian Embassy, located at Number 3, Hans Crescent in London.
Julian Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, tweeted:
URGENT
Julian about to be expelled from Embassy into hands of UK (US)!
NEEDED NOW!
* 24/7 Citizens Vigil
*24/7 Livestreaming using hashtag #ProtectJulian
WHERE:#Ecuador Embassy
3 Hans Cres
LONDON
(Knightsbridge Railway Station/Piccadilly line)Please RT/share widely https://t.co/SARV6m7p4Z
— Mrs. Christine Assange (@AssangeMrs) April 4, 2019
A live stream of what is happening outside the embassy can be found here:
Award-winning journalist and filmmaker John Pilger wrote via Twitter: “WikiLeaks reports that Julian Assange is on the verge of being expelled from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Please fill the street outside the embassy and protect him, and show solidarity with a courageous man, whose struggle ought to touch us all.” A marathon online vigil for Assange will begin Friday at 4 pm EST, to be webcast by Consortium News.
Christine Assange, whose Twitter account has twice been restricted in the past two weeks, is expected on the vigil.
Elizabeth Vos contributed to this story.
Freedom of speech is dead if Julian is arrested. This will mark the beginining of the end.
#protectjulian
Yes, people of London, please do as John Pilger has requested. Don’t allow him to be taken by the London police.
It shows how dangerous it is talking truth to power! Another case of You cannot fight City Hall!
This is an absolute disgrace with the usual bullying of the US!
Trumped up rape charges, Australia’s behaviour, all the maggots are showing their true colours & justice is forgotten!
Not one person has been charged re Chelsea Manning’s video of the chopper & gun crew! Why?
I have known for many years that the UK government is totally corrupt in it’s subservience to the equally corrupt United States Government. I hope the powers that be choke on US chlorinated chicken.
I think the US is subserviant to Britain.
Why? Because the MSM helps them to keep the people blind and silent.
How many wars did they make propaganda for the government, to push those wars ahead? If they didnt know those reasons to go to war were BS, why do they keep doing the same thing to this very day, knowing very well that they made that “mistake” many times before?
They know. They always knew. They act on full intend and should always be treated as accomplices. Especially legally. Dont believe anything they say, especially if they claim to have the moral high ground.
…they will come us next!
Free Julian Assange! He has broken no laws.
He will be sent to Guantanamo to be tortured if he is arrested. Britain, under pressure from the US, will turn him over to the US. No one should be punished for telling or publishing the truth.
Thank you for keeping information on Assange flowing. He is a hero, not the enemy. ¡Vive la verdad!
Replying to @johnpilger and @AssangeMrs: Nov. 2018: Secret Charges Are “Accidentally Revealed.” “Accidentally Revealed.” Yeah, right. And, Britain just “Inadvertently” ignored a UN Human Rights ruling that Assange was “being arbitrarily detained in violation of International Law.”
It does not serve the purposes of the USG to have the secret charges against Assange revealed. It might have been a deliberate leak by someone not allowed to speak thereof, but they could have made a statement secretly with more credibility.
Having prepared many legal documents which take forever just to comply with format requirements identical across many documents, I can say that most likely the process was to take a model document and modify it where necessary. It would be typical to take the similar document most carefully prepared (related to Assange) and use it directly as a template. So it is probably an accident, and one very humorous to those with legal experience.
A command psyop performance by the CIA, requested by Pomp, Bolt, Abe, and 6-Pence to divert attention away from their Guidaógate fail.
I don’t know, is there a government anywhere in the world that is not utterly corrupt and so imminently subject to U.S. bribery, blackmail or threats of extreme (“fire and fury”) violence? And while we puny 99.9% squeak our protestations it just goes on and on and gets worse every year. I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I’m keeping my powder dry and my handbasket packed.
If Assange is brought to the US for trial, expect massive protests; if not civil disobedience. It would actually be a pr mistake for the US. Although they are probably too stupid and fascistic too understand that it would be an historic and very embarrassing legal case.
A conviction would be difficult at best unless they can fake evidence that Wikileaks solicited, something they don’t do, classified information. There is huge precedence on this. Losing the case, which is likely, would be humiliating for the government.
you are overestimating the capacity of Americans to give a shite.
Yes, cultural corruption by mass media is the long term effect of the corruption of mass media and elections by the money power of an unregulated market economy.
The DOJ doesn’t have to worry about losing cases, because the judiciary are over 99% corrupt. Legal precedents and principles are always ignored unless they coincide with their tribal preferences. They are the worst of the traitors in US government, so expect nothing unless you are of their tribe. A judge who is a USG employee, female, Repub, rich, Jewish, or Italian will almost never convict or contradict another of their tribe, unless opposed to one of their tribes. Tribalism=patriotism and money=virtue are their only pretense of principles. Pure ignorance, selfishness, hypocrisy, and malice, the four freedoms of the US.
The USA is dragging it’s own name through the mud all the time now. Backing the state of Israel, who are openly committing war crimes and breaking international law with impunity. Attempting to overthrow legitimate government’s throughout the world, especially in south America. Invading middle eastern countries with disastrous effect and raping them of their oil and riches. Backing Saudi Arabia in their illegal, genocidal invasion of Yemen. The US has become a dangerous tyranny whose downfall could adversely affect the whole world, if there is anyone left in it.
Jaffer – Meanwhile here in Canada, Chrystia Freeland, the “liberal,” “feminist” Mike Pompeo, receives kudos every day from all quarters for her strong performance as foreign minister, supporting and encouraging every one of the outrageous actions you mentioned.
>If Assange is brought to the US for trial, expect massive protests<
Rachel Maddow will make it all right with the 30 or 40 geriatics protesting.
I have posted, tweeted to all I can. Just a reminder:
https://zeroanthropology.net/2016/11/08/101-things-we-learned-from-wikileaks-podesta-emails/
“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”
? Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
Great quote, and very true of today’s empire and the implication for tomorrow’s generation, if we make it that long.
Beautiful, thank you Alex and Bowie.
Terrific link and quote!
Our governments are thoroughly evil. At least let us be witness to that.
I am still waiting for someone from the MAGA crowd to explain to us why Trump is allowing this to happen. What happened to “I love wikileaks”? He flip-flops more than a fish out of water.
The arrest will mark the ultimate demise of Western civilization, either because there will be nothing left of it or because the sleepers will rise up and will be exterminated. No slave revolt in history ever succeeded. The American Revolution was a revolt of the upper middle class which, by the way, can result in the least unjust form of government. Not much of the middle class is left and the 99.99% are ridiculously powerless compared with those who are willing to betray their families and neighbors for a bowl of lean soup full of pesticides, pharmaceutical refuse, and poisons from the collapsing infrastructure.
The Mexican Revolution was successful for as long as it was.
If the general population is in a a critical state of duress and the state security forces stand down, revolutions may be successful.
OWS had a chance except for state security and smothering co-option by Democrats.
Sorry, but I have serious doubts about the truth of this whole “imminently expelled” story based on anonymous “high level” sources.
Back in November last year CN (and to be fair many others) reported the scary story about the scaffolding, including some kind of IT/Security “expert” called O’Brien who had no idea about standard UK building scaffolding security systems apparently.
Back then I made a comment here which included the following:
“Looks like the scaffolding security system you’ll find at: sdsalarms.co.uk/our-works/alarms/
They are the business that has a sign on the scaffolding (shown in the pictures in the linked article).
Apparently there is an industry code of practice in the UK called “NCP115” covering scaffold security – against thieves, drunks and kids climbing on it.
I’m a huge Assange supporter (also Australian), but going off half-cocked with “imminent danger to his life, URGENT” scare is likely to be counter-productive in my view. I saw this about 24 hours ago, some 6 hours before the “Emergency Meeting” and my first thought was – “If it’s so urgent put it all over the internet NOW. Why wait until 3pm Saturday NY time? What if he’s dead by then?” My next thought was, this is likely either jumping at shadows or more of a promotion for #Unity4J than an urgent call to arms. Fair enough for them to be jumpy and/or promote themselves and the plight of Assange, but the danger of being seen as crying wolf is something to consider. What happens when there is a really genuine need for urgent action one day and some people hesitate while waiting to see if it’s for real?”
Strangely, that comment seems even more apposite today.
Crying “wolf” based on “sources” – no matter how well intentioned – is never a good idea when “we” are on the side of truth, transparency and honestly holding the evil, corrupt and powerful to account.
I agree, false alarms are dangerous and self defeating.
I’d sooner see people remain vigilant and question things that are going on there.
It’s not like the CIA or MI6 hasn’t used contractor gear and authentic signage to cover their operations. (Just because a van DISPLAYS “OTIS Elevator” on the side, doesn’t mean it is. Assumptions like that aren’t even warranted here.) And, it’s not like Julian’s been dealt a fair hand here, and people AREN’T out to put him in a hole.
There WERE a lot of anomalies about that scaffold operation, and I’m glad people took the care to scrutinize it. What’s the point of giving a situation like that the “benefit of the doubt”??
…”What happens when there is a really genuine need for urgent action one day and some people hesitate while waiting to see if it’s for real?”
I had been turning on the “Ruptly” livestream several times a day/night to check in and keep a watch. I just happened to be watching the feed live (along with about 200 other people apparently) on Thursday evening Australian time when Julian Assange was dragged out.
At that point there was nobody there apart from the Ruptly camera operator and one bystander. The people who had been keeping vigil seemed to have all taken a break because nothing was happening. For example Craig Murray was on his was back to Scotland.
The Editor in Chief of RT put it well in her Tweet (translation):
“the most obvious sentence one could pass over total disgrace the world media has become can be seen in the fact that nobody was here to film the arrest of Julian Assange, only us (RT). That in spite of the fact that everybody already new that he would be expelled. Now they have to come and ask for our footage.
CNN and The Guardian have the gall to call us and ask how it is that we were the only ones to get this footage.
It’s obvious: you are just the spineless hypocritical servants of your Establishment and not journalists at all. This is why such a thing happened.”
Q.E.D.
One more betrayal of free speech
Free Julian Assange. Follow the campaign at the World Socialist Web Site at http://www.wsws.org
What is difficult to understand is why so much of the London population (can’t speak for elsewhere) is indifferent or against him.
I can understand guilty parties wanting him gone but regular people with no skin in the game? Sadly I guess a lot of people really are sheep and want to stay in their own little flock and hope the shepherd isn’t mean to them. (after all they know there is little chance their fellow sheep will help them if they cause trouble)
These are well educated people, (or what passes as) doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, They are the people that make the system work.
This is a very short sighted approach and it doesn’t end well.
Hmmm! Perhaps the INA Papers was a CIA/MI6 scheme. And of course only Wikileaks could be responsible for the leak of information implicating Moreno.
I just checked CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and the New York Times. Not a word from any of them on this. Meanwhile an innocent man is heading for probable torture and disappearance down the memory hole here in our so-called democracy, our beacon of human rights and they have nothing to say about it.
My heart is broken.
What else do you expect from our presstitutes? I also wonder what minuscule percent of our brain-washed, sheeple even know about this. What a sorry mess US of A is.
Assange was, after long last; proven to have not committed a crime; however, at the behest of the US officials who have a LOT to lose if he spills the beans on them; an English ‘warrant’ was issued for his arrest. He avoided arrest by seeking asylum (it was granted) in the Ecuadorian Diplomatic compound. He’s been living at the Embassy for way too many years. In any event; what the British now want him for is; get this; avoiding arrest (for a completely fabricated crime, he didn’t commit, and knew nothing about). That’s it; avoiding arrest, and after all these years ‘somebody’ either still fears him/Wikileaks, or they seek to punish him for his Wiki… Corruption doesn’t begin to describe the British and American governments!
Prosecuting Julian Assange will not exonerate imperialism from the atrocities which they have committed, particularly US imperialism. Just the opposite .they will gather hatred upon themselves the people of the world.
Mostly they will be feared by the rest of the World that’s the whole point , resulting in a chill effect on whistle blowing and Journalism.
If Assange ends up in the US it will be interesting to see how the US political elite say particularly the Democratic Party candidates for President. For me attitudes towards Assange could be a kind of litmus test–we will see who seeks the favor of the Deep State and who doesn’t. This will be difficult for someone like Sanders.
The issue and victim is Assange and press freedom not what mealy mouthed politicians have to say.
Tulsi recently spoke favorably of Assange, saying that information he published “has spurred some necessary change.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96RWyhDPS0
Still looking for a litmus test for the Dem Party? Start with Russia gate. Then realize that it is the new nest of war monger neocons, and national security complex. Then pedal back in time: drone killing of civilians in other countries, assassination of American citizens (without due process), Wall Street bailout, mass surveillance, Libya, Syria, …. media consolidation, Glass-Steagall act, NAFTA, complicity (at the very least) in Saddam’s WMD trick, subservience to Israel….
They aren’t going to want to try in court Assange in the US because the NYTimes and Washington Post published WikiLeaks info. If he gets convicted of something, they’ll go down too.
So the concern now is and always has been what America will do to Assange outside a courtroom. Torture, murder, who knows?
The American government does all that and more to folks all over the world every day. If Assange were a person of color, he’d be dead already.
Trusting volatile Latin American countries to uphold human rights law, with their tattered histories of juntas and strongmen left and right, was never a reliable hope.
Often the conflagration in Latin America is set by the USA.
The minute Ecuador changed presidents, I knew bad times, even worse than before, were in store for Juluan Assange. When the US gets hold of him, he may disappear into Guantanamo and never be heard from again until he “dies of … whatever.” He will never see a courtroom.
It would be funny if Assange survived American torture and made it to trial only to have the judicial system work as it did for the Pentagon Papers and have the case thrown out of court. It would also be interesting to see if the media outlets would see the existential threats to themselves in this case or if they have totally given up the job of actual journalism and figure they’re safe as propaganda megaphones for the government.
My personal assessment of today’s USA is that Assange would be convicted and the media will be silent.
MSM is pushing Assange’s conviction.
And a Virginia CIA/Pentagon jury pool would certainly convict Assange.
Nothing funny in any of this hideous persecution.
You are misinformed.
He is not being indicted for ‘journalism’.
For sassing Deep State politicians & revealing war crimes in Iraq
Quite a lot of members of the “Church of Hillary” hate him; it’s his fault their false messiah didn’t get elected.
I hope you are not suggesting that he is being indicted for “rape”….
>My personal assessment of today’s USA is that Assange would be convicted and the media will be silent.<
That's right. The NSA through its massive accumulation of over a decade of comm networks and some voice / text on everyone, can manage the picking of consuls / judges /jurors. If any of them cause trouble, well, they'll get "managed".
MSM is pushing Assange’s conviction.
And a Virginia CIA/Pentagon jury would find Assaange him guilty.
There is nothing funny about Assange’s or the USA’s position.
Is there no Justice?
No
Zhu’s, agreed. There’s no justice in the USA and it’s collaborative countries who are threatened by the world’s biggest bully if they disagree with US dictates. If they do disagree, a coup is headed their way. Russia interference is a joke…the US interferes EVERYWHERE.
Julian Assange is a hero, a real journalist.