UN panel rules Julian Assange arbitrarily detained, entitled to liberty & compensation
Posted on February 5th, 2016
Courtesy RT
“The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) … considered that Mr. Julian Assange was arbitrarily detained by the Governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” the statement said.
The group concluded that the WikiLeaks founder is entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation.”
The Working Group considered that Mr. Assange has been subjected to different forms of deprivation of liberty: initial detention in Wandsworth Prison [in London] which was followed by house arrest and his confinement at the Ecuadorian embassy.”
The Working Group also considered that the detention should be brought to an end,” the experts concluded.
“This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention. The UK has already made clear to the UN that we will formally contest the working group’s opinion,” a government spokesman said.
According to the spokesman, Assange “is, in fact, voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorian embassy.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the organization was extremely pleased” by the UN panel decision and urged Britain and Sweden to heed this very clear message.”
In the absence of guarantees, the possibility that the founder of WikiLeaks could be sent against his will to face criminal charges in the United States in connection with the leaks posted on the website is not only not negligible but in fact poses a major threat both to himself and, more broadly, to freedom of information,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
In Sweden, Assange is wanted for questioning regarding allegations of sexual assault against two women in 2010, which he has always denied. The WikiLeaks founder says that he fears that if he goes to Sweden he will have to face a tribunal in the US for publishing classified documents. Stockholm, however, has refused to guarantee that this would not happen.
On Thursday, an official from OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner) Christophe Peschoux said if the UN panel concludes that a person’s rights have been violated then “the decision is indirectly, but still legally binding on the relevant authorities and states.”