WikiLeaks founder faces arrest the moment he leaves the
embassy even if he is granted asylum, police have indicated
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| A police officer stands guard outside Ecuador's London embassy where Julian Assange requested political asylum. |
He spent his first full day confined to the small Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge on Monday, unable to move as his lawyers, diplomats and government officials grappled with the implications of his request for political asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden.
His surprise move on Tuesday evening has left some of Assange's most prominent supporters facing the loss of up to £240,000 in bail money provided to secure his freedom when he first faced extradition proceedings. Supporters including the activist Jemima Khan, film director Ken Loach and publisher Felix Dennis posted cash security of £200,000 with Westminster magistrates court with a further £40,000 as promised sureties when Assange was freed in December 2010.
Assange's gambit came after he lost the last of his many appeals against removal to Sweden to be questioned over sex crime accusations, for which he has been on police bail since December 2010.
He had been driven by what he called "really terrible choices" to make the last-ditch move, his New-York-based lawyer told the Guardian, believing it highly likely that the US intends to seek his onward extradition from Sweden on espionage charges over the WikiLeaks cable releases. "What he was facing was never seeing the light of day for the next 40 years," said Michael Ratner, of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, which represents the WikiLeaks founder in the US.
The Swedish lawyer representing the Australian's two alleged victims said the latest attempt to avoid extradition was "a tragedy for the women". Claes Borgström said the women were "frustrated" and "disappointed".
"The tragedy is that he doesn't take his responsibility. He should have come to Sweden," Borgström added. Assange has not been charged in Sweden and denies the allegations.
The Foreign Office has confirmed that the first-floor embassy – consisting of the ambassador's office and some other small rooms, one of which Assange is said to be occupying – is diplomatic territory and that while there Assange is "beyond the reach of police". But officials are adamant that even if Ecuador grants him asylum or a diplomatic passport, he faces immediate arrest the moment he steps out of the front door for breaching his bail conditions.
Even taking Ecuadorean nationality would not help, officials stressed, as he could not claim asylum in what would be then his own embassy. He is understood to have surrendered his own Australian passport to British authorities.
Metropolitan police officers attended the embassy , after confirming that an arrest warrant had been issued for breach of the Bail Act.
Anna Alban, the Ecuadorean ambassador, said she had met Foreign Office officials, and she explained "that the decision on Mr Assange's application would be assessed by the department of foreign affairs in Quito and would take into account Ecuador's long and well established tradition in supporting human rights."
Her government would be seeking "a just and fair solution to this situation", she said.
Ricardo Patino, Ecuador's foreign minister, said on Tuesday that the WikiLeaks founder had written to the country's president, Rafael Correa, to ask for asylum. Assange interviewed him last month for his TV show The World Tomorrow, broadcast on the Russian state-sponsored channel Russia Today, in which the president told him: "Welcome to the club of the persecuted."
Ecuador is the only country to have expelled its US ambassador over the WikiLeaks cable revelations. It was during the filming of this interview that an offer of asylum was made, the Associated Press reported, quoting a woman who had been present during the interview but had spoken on condition of anonymity. It did not say whether the offer was personally made by Correa.
Ratner said Assange's move had been prompted purely by his fears of future prosecution in the US rwhere a secret grand jury has been empanelled into the WikiLeaks founder, ather than a desire to avoid the Swedish accusations. "Had the US come forward and said, 'We will not prosecute Julian Assange, I think he would be in Sweden tomorrow to deal with the allegations of the sex crimes. It was not about that at all. It was only about the US."
Marianne Ny, the Swedish prosecutor who had secured Assange's extradition in the supreme court in London, is following developments closely, said her spokeswoman, Britta von Schoultz. Ny will not comment on Assange's decision to seek asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy until he is returned to Sweden. "It is solely a case for the British authorities to handle," Von Schoultz said. "When it becomes a case for the Swedish prosecutor, she will comment on the case."
A leading criminal lawyer said those supporters who had stood bail for Assange would have to persuade the courts why they should not forfeit their money. Oliver Lewis, partner at Powell Spencer and Partners Solicitors, said: "There would have to be a pretty good reason … Usually the court says thank you very much, you have lost your money."
Vaughan Smith, the founder of the Frontline Club, was asked to offer surety of £20,000, and was unclear whether he would forfeit it. "The money is important because it relates to the welfare of my wife and children, but they don't feel they are at risk of being sent to America," he said. "I remain a supporter and it is important we recognise [Assange] is a western dissident. There are a lot of people who believe the work he did at Wikileaks was in the public interest.""
Khan confirmed on Twitter that she had also posted bail money for Assange. "I had expected him to face the allegations," she said. "I am as surprised as anyone by this."In his asylum request, Assange accused the Australian government of making an "effective declaration of abandonment", refusing to make interventions on his behalf to the Swedish or US authorities.
At a press conference, Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, said: "Mr Assange's decisions and choices are a matter for Mr Assange We, our officials, our consular officials, will be in contact with him and also with Ecuador in London about this, but his decisions in relation to this matter are for him to make.."But the Australian Green party attacked its government's response as "feeble", saying it amounted to "malign indifference".During Correa's six years in office, his administration has continued to welcome foreign refugees, of which more than 95% have fled the protracted civil war in Colombia. On Monday, António Guterres, the UN high commissioner for refugees, commended Ecuador for being an "example of solidarity" by receiving Latin America's largest refugee population.
Assad may be
offered clemency by Britain and US if he joins peace talks
Initiative comes after Cameron and Obama received
encouragement from Putin during G20 talks in Mexico
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| President Bashar al-Assad could be given clemency if he agrees for a UN-backed political transition in Syria. |
The initiative comes after David Cameron and Barack Obama received encouragement from Russia's President Vladimir Putin in separate bilateral talks at the G20 in Mexico.
A senior British official said: "Those of us who had bilaterals thought there was just enough out of those meetings to make it worth pursuing the objective of negotiating a transitional process in Syria."
With daily reports of civilian deaths and the conflict apparently taking on an increasingly sectarian hue, Britain is willing to discuss giving clemency to Assad if it would allow a transitional conference to be launched. He could even be offered safe passage to attend the conference.
One senior UK official said: "It is hard to see a negotiated solution in which one of the participants would be willing voluntarily to go off to the international criminal court." It was stressed Cameron had not made a final decision on the matter.
During talks at the G20, British and American officials were convinced Putin was not wedded to Assad remaining in power indefinitely, although even this limited concession is disputed in Moscow.
On the basis of these discussions, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, will now seek to persuade the former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to change the format of his plans to construct a contact group on Syria, and instead host a conference using the transition on Yemen as the model.
In the case of Yemen, the president, Ali Saleh, was granted immunity in February despite the massacre of civilians. His deputy, to whom he ceded power, is drawing up a new constitution.
Participants would include representatives of the Syrian government, leading figures in the opposition, the five permanent members of the UN security council and key figures in the region, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Russia has been pressing for Iran to be able to attend.
The meeting, under Annan's chairmanship, would be held by the end of the month with an objective of establishing a broader-based government leading to elections in 18 months time.
British officials said: "We do not think it makes sense to invite the Iranians for a number of reasons. We are under no illusions about this and are entirely realistic about the prospects of this happening. It may come off. It could capsize on whether Iran gets invited or not. But it is worth a try given the gravity of events there."
Cameron said on Tuesday Syria was "in danger of descending into a bloody civil war" and there was little time left to act.
As an alternative the US might go for a tougher UN security council resolution on sanctions, but the prospect of a no-fly zone, overcoming Russian objections, is not regarded as realistic.
It also emerged that Cameron confronted Putin over arms supplies and had been personally involved in plans to prevent a Russian-manned shipment of three repaired attack helicopters and air defence systems reaching Syria.
The ship, the MV Alead, returned to Russia after UK insurance was withdrawn on Monday.
It emerged that Cobra, the government emergency committee, held secret sessions last Thursday, Friday and Monday at which options to stop the shipment were discussed, including discussions with the Dutch government to stop the ship on the basis that it was flying under the Dutch Antilles flag.
Cameron was updated on the process while at the G20 summit in Mexico and had at one point been willing to consider ordering the ship to be boarded had it continued down the English Channel.
Russia is not party to any arms embargo and claims the opposition are being armed by the Saudis.
US and UK intelligence had identified the cargo on the ship as well as false documention about its destination. The ship turned back after insurance was withdrawn following UK government pressure. The EU arms embargo on Syria will now be tightened up to cover insurance.
Egyptian
presidential result delayed as both candidates claim victory
Elections commission still considering appeals as supporters
of Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafik argue over the figures
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| A group of women in Tahrir Square, Cairo, show support for the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi. |
The second round of the contest saw the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi fightfought a head-to-head contest with Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The latest twist in the election came amid conflicting reports regarding the health of 84-year-old Mubarak. Late on Tuesday night it had been reported that he was "clinically dead". While this was swiftly retracted, it appeared early on Wednesday that his condition had deteriorated.
Later reports suggested he had been taken off life support but would be monitored closely over the next three days after a stroke and cardiac arrest.
Preliminary results had placed the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate in the lead over Shafiq, a former air force commander regarded as the preferred choice of the country's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. However, the elections commission is still looking at hundreds of appeals from both camps that may strike some votes and tip the balance either way.
The Brotherhood had announced Morsi was the winner only hours after the polls closed. It released figures it had compiled from the 13,000 polling stations, giving Morsi 13.2m votes and Shafiq 12.3m.
The Shafiq campaign said its candidate was ahead but did not give initially give numbers. However, a member of the campaign, Tamir Wagih, told the Guardian their figures confirmed a Shafiq win. He said the Brotherhood's victory announcement was an attempt to incite violence in case their candidate lost.
"At that point only 30% had been counted, their announcement was a political trick to send a message to the military that if they don't win they will claim electoral fraud and justify acts of violence," he said.
Wagih also claimed the total number of voters in the runoff was 23.5 million, rather than the 25.5 million figure used by Morsi's supporters. The Shafiq campaign figures – which are not final – give their candidate 10.85m and Morsi 10.5m votes, with two million still to be counted.
If Morsi had won, Wagih said: "We respect the authorities and we'll discuss our response."
Any lengthy delay in announcing the winner risks prolonging uncertainty and stoking tension at a time when it is unclear how big a role the military will continue to play in leading the country.
On Tuesday, a US election monitoring group said it was unable to say whether the presidential election had been free and fair as it had not been given sufficient access. It accused the military leadership of hampering a transition to democracy.
The Carter Center criticised a court's decision to dissolve the Islamist-dominated parliament and issue a decree from the military council limiting the future president's powers.