Britain and Ecuador Discuss Wikileaks Founder's Fate

Time's running out on the Whistle Blower-in-Chief

By Sommer Brokaw

British and Ecuadorean leaders are holding talks on the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who may soon have to leave an embassy in Britain after staying there six years. File photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

UPI -- Officials in Britain and Ecuador are discussing the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in Ecuador's British embassy for six years.

Assange, 47, who has rarely seen daylight in the years he's been held in asylum, could face expulsion soon from the embassy, a source told The Times.

Government officials in both countries are pondering the eviction of Assange, who gained notoriety for publishing thousands of U.S.-classified documents on the website, WikiLeaks, from Ecuador's London embassy, where he has been in asylum since 2012 and gained citizenship late last year.

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno told the BBC Friday that he was never "in favor" of Assange's activities, and that both countries were holding talks.

The British government has become more concerned about his welfare as Ecuador cut off his internet connection in March over concerns about his use of social media interfering with diplomatic relations and cut back extra security in May after spending $5 million on protection costs.

"It is our wish that this is brought to an end, and we would like to make the assurance that if he were to step out of the embassy, he would be treated humanely and properly," British Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan told parliament last month.

"The first priority would be to look after his health, which we think is deteriorating."

Ecuador granted political asylum to Assange in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations. Assange faced a count of unlawful coercion and two counts of sexual molestation, which expired in 2015 due to statutes of limitations under Swedish law, while the investigation for one remaining rape allegation, which had an expiration date of 2020, was dropped in May 2017.

Although the Swedish investigation has been dropped, Assange fears an arrest for bail breach in the sexual assault case would allow him to be extradited to the United States for publishing the classified documents on Wikileaks. 

The website grabbed worldwide attention in April 2010 when it released footage of U.S. soldiers fatally shooting at least 18 civilians from a helicopter in Iraq.

Perhaps Assange should have allowed himself to face American justice before Trump began loading the Supreme Court with right-wing cronies. He might have had a chance to be pardoned as a whistle-blower. I doubt that chance exists anymore.

I think Britain would demand assurances that he not face the death penalty for treason before handing him over to the US, but I seriously doubt that he would get a fair trial in America.

Maldives Leader Orders Arrests of Supreme Court Judges

Corruption is Everywhere - Even the Maldives

By Sara Shayanian 
Sky News

UPI -- The president of the Republic of Maldives is accusing the country's Supreme Court of plotting a coup to overthrow the government amid ongoing political turmoil.

President Abdulla Yameen's charge comes after he called for a state of emergency Monday amid protests for the government to release opposition leaders from prison after the Supreme Court said their trials were politically motivated.

The opposition leader is a former President of the Maldives.

The State of Emergency was called for a period of 15 days.

After Yameen's declaration, police arrested Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Supreme Court Judge Abdulla Hameed.

Tuesday, Yameen accused the chief justice and the high court of pushing for his impeachment from office.

"The constitution clearly states how a president can be impeached. The Supreme court has no authority to do so," Yameen said. "But when the chief justice were pushing for these things beyond his mandate or jurisdiction, we had to take it seriously. We had to find out why."

The president said the "entire judiciary" could be compromised against the government.

Could there be a reason for that? Or, could paranoia be setting in?

"We needed to find out if there was any link between the sudden change in the mentality of the chief justice and his new found riches. No one is above the law. Not even judges. I had no other choice. No other way to save the nation," he added.

After the state of emergency was called, security forces were allowed to make arrests, public gatherings were banned and soldiers were posted at the doors of opposition buildings.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said. "We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was."

Former President Mohammed Nasheed called from exile for other countries to intervene in the political crisis.

On Twitter, Nasheed asked India to send military assistance and for the United States to stop financial transactions of Maldives leaders.

The U.S. National Security Council said it stands "with the people of Maldives."

"The Maldivian government and military must respect the rule of law, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions," The council said on Twitter. "The world is watching."

Nasheed has called for Yameen to be removed from power.

"Maldivians have had enough of this criminal and illegal regime," Nasheed said. "President Yameen should resign immediately."

India and the USA should be reluctant to intervene for fear of enabling a genuine coup. The truth about who in the Maldives is corrupt needs to be determined and exposed, only then can a fair decision be made as to whether or not to intervene.