Caporegime
Lol. Cue more whinging from his supporters about him continuing his stay in Belmarsh. How many appeals is that now? Surely there has to be some kind of limit?
Assange to go!
- Thread starter Hitman_Leon
- Start date
Lol. Cue more whinging from his supporters about him continuing his stay in Belmarsh. How many appeals is that now? Surely there has to be some kind of limit?
Soldato
It's not for us to pardon him for anything. But bounce back to Oz, sure - if the appeals process completes and he wins it.
Caporegime
Fun fact: it's now >4 years since Assange's team claimed he was being tortured to death in prison and would die without getting his day in court unless he was immediately released.
Only the US can grant him a pardon, so that's entirely in Biden's hands.
Only the US can grant him a pardon, so that's entirely in Biden's hands.
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Caporegime
Assange takes a guilty plea.
The conspiracy theorists who claimed he was facing execution in the US are wrong yet again.
The conspiracy theorists who claimed he was facing execution in the US are wrong yet again.
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Soldato
They were right for the charges he was facing at the time.
It looks like the US is trying to save face and get itself out of the international incident it caused.
Wikileaks: Julian Assange freed in US plea deal
Wikileaks said its founder had left a UK prison after striking a deal to plead guilty to US criminal charges.
www.bbc.co.uk
I suspect the US thought with Labour becoming the government the chances of the UK just extraditing him back to Australia, by passing the US, would increase.
Caporegime
Yup. Incredible the mess he made of his life. Still a pity he successfully dodged a fair trial for rape, but seems like an overall good outcome.
Caporegime
No they weren't. Capital punishment was never on the cards, and the US government made this clear long ago.
Conspiracy theorists also tried to tell everyone that Assange was dying in prison, and could not survive continued imprisonment. This lie was kickstarteed in 2019 with a letter from 60 doctors stating that he was facing certain death, and kept the narrative running for several years until it was no longer possible to deny that he was still fit and healthy.
All I ever wanted from the Assange situation was a guilty verdict. He's finaally admitted his guilt after years in prison, so I'm satisfied.
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Soldato
So the British court system was making things up about their concerns about the death penalty possibility? This was the main reason his extradition was being delayed.
60 doctors tell you something and you choose not to believe it?
There were also people in prison talking to him that was reporting on his situation.
Guilt for what? The US were committing war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He should have tried to keep some people's names out of it. Though he might have thought if he edited it then it wouldn't be seen as a credible document.
The UK should have ignored any extradition request (just like the US have with Anne Sacoolas), at least until they set a formal charge up.
Caporegime
This is precisely why the concerns were always silly grandstanding from Assange and his supporters. He could not be extradited until, and unless, secure guarantees about capital punishment were in place. This is true for anyone up for extradition. The UK does not extradite to the death penalty.
Five years later, they've been proven wrong. Unsurprising since none of them had any first hand knowledge of the case.
Soldato
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Caporegime
Yes, really. It's literally the law. Why did you think that Assange was able to try and appeal on these grounds?
When has the US executed someone who was extradited on the condition they wouldn't be? When has a US court held that a binding international agreement imposing conditions on detention of an extradited person get be ignored? The US was never going to blow up its relationship with UK, and its ability to extradite more important people in future from pretty much any country with a functioning court system, over Assange. It's silly nonsense and always was.
Soldato
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The UK-US Extradition Treaty is a travesty. I suspect when the UK courts were about to hear an appeal based on his 1st Amendment Rights the DoJ was worried that it would set a precedent in UK courts preventing large numbers of extraditions from the UK.
Soldato
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And justice was done.
Welcome to Australia, Julian!
You're welcome to Julian, Australia!
You're welcome to Julian, Australia!
Soldato
The question of the death penalty on extradition only becames an issue when a death penalty is possible. But according to you and @Sankari it was never a possibility, even though the courts here were talking about the issue.
I said really because there is never a question of execution in extradition were either the potential crime doesn't carry a death sentence, or it's a country as banned death sentences.
They don't seem to mind making us look foolish when it came to Anne Sacoolas. Or when they keep making requests for autistic programmers. We're supposed to be allies yet when it comes to sensitive issues they act like these people are Russian hackers.
There is an anti British streak in the American establishment. It wasn't that long ago elected officials were supporting the IRA via funding and political campaigning during the bombing campaigns.
Soldato
I wonder if he will go quietly into the night. If he has any sense he will.
The Americans obviously didn't want any more dirty washing coming out in the trial.
The Americans obviously didn't want any more dirty washing coming out in the trial.
Caporegime
Yes, it was never a possibility, which is why the courts were talking about the issue. The extradition could not proceed until it was legally ruled out. Because that is what the law in the UK says.
Assange was never in danger of being executed, just as he was never in any danger of being extradited from Sweden.
There's a substantial difference between looking foolish, and destroying their legal standing.
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Soldato
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They requested extradition of people against whom they made a prima face case.
And those people subsequently pleaded guilty.