Assange still waiting for his fate to be sealed
SYDNEY - Agence France-Presse
A British police officer stands guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy. AP photo
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said yesterday there was “no hint” of a plan to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States should he be sent to Sweden.Assange, an Australian, took refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in London on June 19 to seek asylum so as to avoid his extradition to Sweden on rape allegations, saying he fears Stockholm will hand him to the United States. Carr said he had raised the issue of the possible extradition of Assange, a former computer hacker, to the U.S. on two occasions with American officials.
“When I have raised it... I’ve received no hint that they have got a plan to extradite him to the U.S.,” Carr told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Assange says he believes the United States wants to try him for divulging U.S. secrets after WikiLeaks released a flood of classified U.S. information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables.
Assange, 40, dramatically sought refuge in Ecuador’s London mission last week, saying he felt his country of birth had not protected him, a claim dismissed by Attorney-General Nicola Roxon. Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa is considering Assange’s request for asylum.
