Police will arrest Julian Assange even if he is granted asylum with one legal
expert claiming his only way out of the country is becoming Ecuador's
representative to the UN.
By
Martin Beckford: The WikiLeaks founder has spent the past two nights holed up in the South
American country’s London embassy, in an attempt to avoid extradition to
Sweden for questioning over alleged sex crimes.
He will discover later today if Ecuador plans to grant him asylum.
But it is widely accepted he will still face arrest the minute he walks out of
the Knightsbridge building, where police are waiting, as he has breached his
bail conditions.
He is meant to remain at a bail address in Tunbridge Wells between 10pm and
8am every night while his extradition appeals continue.
Mr Assange, a 40 year-old Australian, cannot be given diplomatic immunity by
Ecuador as conferred on other embassy staff, because the Foreign Office
would not approve the application.
And even if he were made an Ecuadorian citizen or granted asylum, he would
still be liable to be arrested on departure from the embassy.
Speaking on the steps this morning, a policeman told reporters: “I am not
aware of any agreements which would allow him safe passage out of the UK.”
Scotland Yard confirmed: “A successful asylum bid does not change the fact that he has breached his bail conditions.”
One legal expert, the former government lawyer Carl Gardner, suggested that Mr Assange could try becoming Ecuador’s representative to the United Nations as a way to escape the country.
He wrote on Twitter: “It's hard to think how Assange could leave the embassy, escape arrest and get on a plane. Except as Ecuador's new representative to the UN.
“If Ecuador & Assange tried my UN representative idea, I think it'd depend on his leaving the embassy to catch a flight to New York.”
He added to a follower: “I'm not saying I'm sure it'd work; it's just the only way I can think of.”
The Foreign Office declined to comment on the possible ways by which Mr Assange could evade arrest.
The maverick journalist and former computer hacker is responsible for the leaking of thousands of sensitive US diplomatic cables and military files, and fears he will be extradited to America by Sweden.
His bid for refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy surprised his high-profile supporters – including Jemima Khan, Ken Loach and Michael Moore – and they are likely to lose the total of £240,000 bail bond they put up for him when he was first arrested in 2010.
The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, is expected to give instructions on the WikiLeaks founder's application later on Thursday.
Overnight, the country's deputy foreign minister Marco Albuja told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "We still can't make a final decision public yet until tomorrow.
"The national government is considering its position and the president will give us his instructions tomorrow."
Scotland Yard confirmed: “A successful asylum bid does not change the fact that he has breached his bail conditions.”
One legal expert, the former government lawyer Carl Gardner, suggested that Mr Assange could try becoming Ecuador’s representative to the United Nations as a way to escape the country.
He wrote on Twitter: “It's hard to think how Assange could leave the embassy, escape arrest and get on a plane. Except as Ecuador's new representative to the UN.
“If Ecuador & Assange tried my UN representative idea, I think it'd depend on his leaving the embassy to catch a flight to New York.”
He added to a follower: “I'm not saying I'm sure it'd work; it's just the only way I can think of.”
The Foreign Office declined to comment on the possible ways by which Mr Assange could evade arrest.
The maverick journalist and former computer hacker is responsible for the leaking of thousands of sensitive US diplomatic cables and military files, and fears he will be extradited to America by Sweden.
His bid for refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy surprised his high-profile supporters – including Jemima Khan, Ken Loach and Michael Moore – and they are likely to lose the total of £240,000 bail bond they put up for him when he was first arrested in 2010.
The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, is expected to give instructions on the WikiLeaks founder's application later on Thursday.
Overnight, the country's deputy foreign minister Marco Albuja told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "We still can't make a final decision public yet until tomorrow.
"The national government is considering its position and the president will give us his instructions tomorrow."
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