Julian Assange sues asylum host Ecuador over 'inhuman' conditions
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is taking legal action against Ecuador, the South American nation that continues to provide him with asylum, for allegedly violating his "fundamental rights and freedoms". WikiLeaks said Ecuador had threatened to remove the protection Assange has had since being granted political asylum in 2012 and added that his access to the outside world had been "summarily cut off". Here's more.
Assange placed under a new set of strict house rules
Assange, the 47-year-old Australian national, who has been holed up in a back room of the Ecuadorean Embassy in central London for over six years, was placed under a new set of house rules after he was allowed limited internet access recently after a seven-month hiatus. "Ecuador's measures against Julian Assange have been widely condemned by the human rights community," a Wikileaks statement said.
Case to be heard in a domestic court next week
WikiLeaks lawyer Baltasar Garzon, who is now in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, will launch the case, which is set to be heard in a domestic court next week, according to UK media reports.
'Special protocol' may seize Assange's property without even a warrant
Assange's lawyers said they are also challenging the legality of the Ecuadorian government's "special protocol", which makes his political asylum contingent on "censoring" his freedom of opinion, speech, and association. The protocol claims that the embassy may seize the property of Assange or his visitors and, without a warrant, hand it over to UK authorities, notes the Wikileaks statement.
Visiting journalists required to share private political details with Ecuador
The protocol requires journalists, lawyers and anyone else seeking to see Assange disclose their private, political details, such as social media usernames and the serial numbers, codes of their phones and tablets, with Ecuador which the protocol says the government may "share with other agencies".
Assange sought refuge at Ecuador Embassy in Knightsbridge in Jun'12
Assange sought refuge at the Ecuador Embassy in Knightsbridge in Jun'12, having lost an appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual assault that went to the Supreme Court. Assange had been granted asylum six years ago on the grounds that he feared extradition to America, where he faced a possible death sentence for Wikileaks' alleged leak of secrets.
