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International Court of Justice may hear case for Julian Assange’s refuge in Ecuador

Assange looks to international court THE AGE August 18, 2012, Karen Kissane, EuropeWIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange will appeal to the International Court of Justice if Britain prevents him from going to Ecuador, according to a senior Spanish human rights lawyer. Baltasar Garzon, who is working on Assange’s defence, told Spanish newspaper El Pais that Britain was legally required to allow Assange to leave once he had diplomatic asylum.

“What the United Kingdom must do is apply the diplomatic obligations of the refugee convention and let him leave, giving him safe conduct,” he said. “Otherwise, he will go to the International Court of Justice.”
Ecuador announced on Thursday that it was offering Assange asylum
because it believed he would face persecution and a possible death
penalty in the United States, where authorities are furious over the
release of thousands of confidential diplomatic cables on his website.
Mr Garzon said the attempted extradition to Sweden was a ploy to allow
the US to exact “political revenge” on Assange.
Mr Garzon, best known for trying to extradite former Chilean leader
Augusto Pinochet from London to Madrid on human rights charges in
1998, criticised Britain’s threat to arrest Assange at the Ecuadorean
embassy, saying this was a threat of “invasion”….. While the British
laws governing consular premises do allow for the de-recognition of an
embassy, any such move would also have to comply with international
law.
Mr Hague said it was a matter of regret that Ecuador had decided to
grant asylum and Britain would not permit Assange safe passage out of
the country. He said the case could go on for a considerable time.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/assange-looks-to-international-court-20120817-24e7q.html#ixzz23wDyOfFy

August 18, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, Legal