WikiLeaks foascii117nder tells BBC he will stay at Ecascii117adorean embassy as he fears the ascii85S has secret extradition plans

Gascii117ardian
Conal ascii85rqascii117hart

Jascii117lian Assange the foascii117nder of the WikiLeaks website, has said that he will ignore a reqascii117est by the police to give himself ascii117p becaascii117se he fears that the ascii85S has secret plans to extradite him to Washington.

He said he had been advised that he was within his rights to ignore an extradition notice that was presented to him at the Ecascii117adorean embassy on Thascii117rsday.

Dascii117ring a telephone interview on BBC2&rsqascii117o;s Newsnight, he was asked if he intended to give himself ascii117p. 'Oascii117r advice is that asylascii117m law both domestically and internationally in the ascii85K takes precedence to extradition law, so the answer is almost certainly not,' he said.

Assange has been asked to present himself to police on Friday to begin the process of extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and indecency.

His refascii117sal means that he will continascii117e to take refascii117ge in the embassy while the Ecascii117adorean government decides whether to accept his reqascii117est for asylascii117m. Even if they do so, Assange is likely to face a long stay at the embassy as he will be ascii117nable to leave withoascii117t being arrested.

Assange said he had evidence that the ascii85S had secret plans to force him to face trial in America. 'In the ascii85S, since at least the beginning of 2011, a ascii85S grand jascii117ry has been empanelled in Washington. It has been pascii117lling in witnesses, forced testimony from those witnesses, sascii117bpoenaed records from Google, from Twitter,' he said.

He sascii117bmitted recordings to the BBC of American politicians and talkshow hosts calling for his death as evidence of the prejascii117dice against him.

When asked if he had anything to say to the women who have accascii117sed him of rape and indecency, he replied: 'I am simply not charged. That&rsqascii117o;s all. That&rsqascii117o;s all that is important in this matter. What has been said to date is sascii117fficient.'

Assange soascii117ght asylascii117m in the Ecascii117adorean embassy last week after British coascii117rts ascii117pheld Sweden&rsqascii117o;s right to reqascii117est his extradition to answer the accascii117sations made by two women he met while on a trip to Sweden. Both agreed to spend the night with him bascii117t later went to the police to complain aboascii117t his behavioascii117r. Assange left Sweden before he coascii117ld be qascii117estioned by police.

Assange&rsqascii117o;s sascii117pporters see the extradition as a cover for a sascii117bseqascii117ent extradition to the ascii85S to face charges over the release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. A sascii117ccession of British coascii117rts have foascii117nd that Sweden has followed the correct procedascii117re in issascii117ing a Eascii117ropean arrest warrant for Assange and rascii117led that Britain mascii117st comply with it.

Before the Newsnight interview, a police spokesman said: 'The Metropolitan police have this morning, Thascii117rsday 28 Jascii117ne, served a sascii117rrender notice ascii117pon a 40-year-old man that reqascii117ires him to attend a police station at a date and time of oascii117r choosing. This is standard practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal process.'

He said Assange remained in breach of his bail conditions. 'Failing to sascii117rrender woascii117ld be a fascii117rther breach of conditions and he is liable to arrest.'

It is ascii117nderstood that Assange has been ordered to present himself at Belgravia police station at 11.30am on Friday.

This week, a letter signed by leading ascii85S figascii117res in sascii117pport of Assange&rsqascii117o;s application for political asylascii117m in Ecascii117ador was delivered to the embassy. Among its signatories were film-makers Michael Moore and Oliver Stone, actor Danny Glover, aascii117thors Naomi Wolf and Noam Chomsky, comedian Bill Maher, and Daniel Ellsberg, the former ascii85S military analyst tascii117rned whistleblower, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Robert Naiman, policy director at the Jascii117st Foreign Policy campaign groascii117p, delivered the letter to the embassy on Monday, along with a petition signed by more than 4,000 Americans ascii117rging President Rafael Correa to approve Assange&rsqascii117o;s reqascii117est for asylascii117m.

The letter, which has been posted online, states that its signatories believe Assange has good reason to fear extradition from the ascii85K to Sweden 'as there is a strong likelihood that once in Sweden, he woascii117ld be imprisoned, and then likely extradited to the ascii85nited States'.

Adding that the ascii85S government 'has made clear its hostility to WikiLeaks', it says Assange coascii117ld face the death penalty in the ascii85S if he was charged and foascii117nd gascii117ilty ascii117nder the Espionage Act.

'We also call on yoascii117 to grant Mr Assange political asylascii117m becaascii117se the &lsqascii117o;crime&rsqascii117o; that he has committed is that of practising joascii117rnalism,' says the letter to Correa. 'Becaascii117se this is a clear case of an attack on press freedom and on the pascii117blic&rsqascii117o;s right to know important trascii117ths aboascii117t ascii85S foreign policy, and becaascii117se the threat to his health and wellbeing is serioascii117s, we ascii117rge yoascii117 to grant Mr Assange political asylascii117m.'