psa: UK RT tweets re: julian assange

Submitted by wendy davis on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 11:16am

there are a couple things in here i hadn't known:

and no, papa assange: not just the loan; look at that grocery list, and manafort again?

but what in the wide world of sports do you make of the frenzied word-salad piece at the sun? via wikileaks on twitter. and this? "Mr Melzer said after his meeting: “I will be trying to assess the risks of torture and ill treatment Mr Assange might be exposed to.”

but he hasn't reported on what he'd found?

and uh-oh, i've just spotted a couple new things:

i may need to bring a few of the subtweets.

Tags: 
#free julian assange! no extreme rendition!
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Submitted by Snode on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 2:32pm

the old saying. "We'll give him a fair trial, and then we'll hang him".

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Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 3:48pm
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@Snode

Quite consistent with the Alice-in-Wonderland "logic" that has permeated this whole case.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 4:23pm
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@Snode

before twelve hangin' judges.

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Submitted by Snode on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 4:56pm

@wendy davis Even Australia has washed it's hands. I suppose it's the PTB of every government on the planet attempting to make sure it's skeletons are buried very deep, away from prying eyes. With the added bonus of making sure any whistleblowing is met with the harshest punishment.

On a side note John Walker Lindh is up for parole 3 years early on good behavior. Dems want blood.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 5:47pm
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@Snode

scott morris was re-elected and laughs when he's asked about repatriating julian, as i remember it.

eeep, small wonder, but i didn't remember lindh's story fter bingling and reading this at the wapo, wish i hadn't accidentally wasted my click.

but fingers doing the walking and all that: 'Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison affirmed that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be receiving "special treatment" following his arrest and potential extradition to the US.', april 12, 2019

"Morrison on Thursday told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Assange would be receiving the same consular assistance as other Australian citizens.

"When Australians travel overseas and they find themselves in difficulties with the law, well they face the judicial systems of those countries, it doesn't matter what particular crime it is they've alleged to have committed," Morrison told ABC. "That's the way the cookie crumbles."

on edit: i just remembered, as i'd used a few of bibi's tweets on my recent diary on the resistance in gaza:

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Submitted by wendy davis on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 5:11pm
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and just to show the extent of the perfidy and massive illegality afoot:

Ecuador to hand over Assange's entire legal defense to the United States:

The chain of custody has already been broken. Assange's lawyers will not be present at the illegal seizure of his property, which has been "requested by the authorities of the United States of America".

The material includes two of his manuscripts, as well as his legal papers, medical records and electronic equipment. The seizure of his belongings violates laws that protect medical and legal confidentiality and press protections.

The seizure is formally listed as "International Assistance in Criminal matters 376-2018-WTT requested by the authorities of the United States of America". The reference number of the legal papers indicates that Ecuador's formal cooperation with the United States was initiated in 2018.

Since the day of his arrest on 11 April 2019, Mr. Assange's lawyers and the Australian consul have made dozens of documented demands to the embassy of Ecuador for the release and return of his belongings, without response. [snip]

The seizure and transfer of Mr. Assange's property to the U.S. is the second phase of a bilateral cooperation that in January and February saw Ecuador arranging U.S. interrogations of past and present Ecuadorian diplomats posted to the embassy of Ecuador in London while Mr. Assange was receiving asylum. The questioning related to the U.S. grand jury investigation against Assange and WikiLeaks. As part of phase one of the cooperation, the United States also asked Ecuador to provide documents and audiovisual material of Assange and his guests, which had been gathered during an extensive spying operation against Assange inside the embassy.

On Friday, President Lenin Moreno initiated a state of emergency that suspends the rights of prisoners to "inviolability of correspondence, freedom of association and assembly and freedom of information" through Executive Decree 741.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks said:

"On Monday Ecuador will perform a puppet show at the Embassy of Ecuador in London for their masters in Washington, just in time to expand their extradition case before the U.K. deadline on 14 June. The Trump Administration is inducing its allies to behave like it's the Wild West."

Hrafnsson continued:

"Ecuador is run by criminals and liars. There is no doubt in my mind that Ecuador, either independently or at the behest of the US, has tampered with the belongings it will send to the United States"

then statements of outrage by assange attorneys Aitor Martinez and Carlos Poveda. and may i point out we still don't know what nilz meler discovered about julian's condition and/or torture. his mama and papa must be going bonkers. i'd neglected to check in with her; i will now.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 7:31am
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dunno which husband, she'd apparently divorced Richard Brett Assange long ago; but how hard.

i haven't read it yet, but craig had opined earlier that he hopes julian IS extradited to sweden to clear his name. i'd thought that sweden and amerika had a 'fast-track' extradition treaty...maybe he'll put my mind at rest on that count.

How to write to chelsea.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 5:09pm
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and no, he'd never mentioned the fast-track extradition treaty, but this is the missing step mind-boggling epic rubbish (in part):

"In Sweden, prosecutors have applied to the Swedish courts to issue a warrant for Julian’s arrest. There is a tremendous back story to that simple statement.
The European Arrest Warrant must be issued from one country to another by a judicial authority. The original Swedish request for Assange’s extradition was not issued by any court, but simply by the prosecutor. This was particularly strange, as the Chief Prosecutor of Stockholm had initially closed the case after deciding there was no case to answer, and then another, highly politically motivated, prosecutor had reopened the case and issued a European Arrest Warrant, without going to any judge for confirmation.” [snip]

The judgement against Assange in the UK Supreme Court on the point of whether the Swedish Prosecutor constituted a “judicial authority” hinged on a completely unprecedented and frankly incredible piece of reasoning. Lord Phillips concluded that in the English text of the EWA treaty “judicial authority” could not include the Swedish prosecutor, but that in the French version “autorite judiciaire” could include the Swedish prosecutor. The two texts having equal validity, Lord Phillips decided to prefer the French language text over the English language text, an absolutely stunning decision as the UK negotiators could be presumed to have been working from the English text, as could UK ministers and parliament when they ratified the decision.”

The law having been changed, this time the Swedes have to do it properly and actually go to a court to issue a warrant. That is what is now happening. As usual, the Guardian today cannot resist the temptation to tell an outright lie about what is happening:”

(then the lying headline, 'Only Because Assange', and more.)

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Submitted by dystopian on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 5:28pm
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As far as I am concerned the U.S. has no right to Julian's belongings, or to view anything on his devices. It only proves our government has gone full fascist stasi. This is what brute bullies America has become, world cops. Our government is the enemy of its own people, and anyone else that doesn't repeat the party line. Those that question it, will pay the price. Those that expose its fraud must die. After compulsory torture of course. I'm sure Gina Haspell is pretty excited about it.

Sad to see our government has devolved to this... the foxes run the henhouse now.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 7:23am
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@dystopian

chosen the right screen-name, but you may need to jigger it to add 'fascist' in there somehow. of course the US, nor ecuador, nor anyone else but those he might have permitted, have any right to his possessions. did they copy everything possible for the son of a bitch lenin moreno? imagine rafael correa's apolplexy again this week; my stars.

but yeah with gitmo, supermax florence, and gina in the mix, it's hard to even imagine how this ends well for julian. may the gods (and julian) forgive me for putting too fine a point on it.

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Submitted by skod on Mon, 05/20/2019 - 9:59pm
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@wendy davis I said quite a while ago that his life officially ended the moment he set foot in that embassy. The denouement is just gonna be that much more disgusting now.

The empire is focusing all its efforts on making a few nonentities. Unfortunately, more of us are paying attention. That might lead to some, shall we say, difficulties.

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Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 7:21am
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@skod

hadn't been offended by my use of the sword of damocles over his head, then? in a way, i'd hated to have been putting such negative energy out there... i'm not quite sure what you mean here, skod; might you explain?

"Unfortunately, more of us are paying attention. That might lead to some, shall we say, difficulties."

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Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 7:30am
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this morning, including five photos.

‘On the spot report: Ecuador’s government colludes with Washington to seize Julian Assange’s possessions’, Robert Stevens and Chris Marsden, wsws.org, 21 May 2019

“Members of the Julian Assange Defence Committee and the Socialist Equality Party were among those who gathered, after reports the operation would begin at 9 a.m. El Pais wrote, “The search of Assange’s sealed-off room will take place on May 20 as part of a petition for judicial assistance issued by the US Department of Justice to the government of Ecuador.” It would be mounted “under the oversight of police chief Diego López and second sergeant Milton Jaque,” described as a “computer forensic expert.”

During the day, Metropolitan Police officers, including several SO6 Diplomatic Protection police, positioned themselves near the embassy and at one point approached the building’s front entrance. SO6 is an armed police unit. Police officers refused to answer questions from protesters, except to say that they were “keeping the peace.”

“The chain of custody has already been broken,” WikiLeaks stressed, meaning that evidence could have been tampered with and should not be admissible in court.”

“To add to the picture of official criminality, Assange’s lawyer Per Samuelsson told Reuters that no court proceedings should go ahead in Sweden because the UK is refusing to grant Assange’s lawyers access to their client in Belmarsh.

“Since he is in prison in England, it has so far not been possible even to speak to him by telephone,” Samuelsson said. He would tell the Swedish District Court it could not investigate the prosecutor’s request until he had conferred with his client and learned whether he wished to oppose a detention order.”

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Submitted by Fishtroller 02 on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 10:21am

over the US's ?

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Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 11:39am
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@Fishtroller 02

except the UK home secretary savid javid (or however it goes) is supposed to be the one who decides, based on greater or lesser 'charges', and as hannah johannson is quick to point out, julian has never been charged, and the swedish prosecutor wants to 'reopen the investigation' again...or 'reinvestigate'? here, let me go grab her tweet o another tab to get it right.

ah: 're-open a preliminary investigation' (how orwellian...)

14 hrs ago, but i'm guessing they're not just 'photographing his belongings'....

and as per the WL press release above: the timing of the search and seizure is just three weeks before the June 14 deadline for the US to file its final extradition request to the UK.

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Submitted by Fishtroller 02 on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 3:33pm

@wendy davis

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may prefer to face rape charges in Sweden from nearly a decade ago because a provision in that nation's extradition treaty with the U.S. protects him from being sent to Washington to answer for conspiracy charges, according to Judge Andrew Napolitano.

"Judge Andrew Napolitano made that case Monday on "America's Newsroom," saying that the Swedish government has a "political defense" provision, which precludes extradition for reasons "connected to politics."

"The extradition treaty the U.S. has with Sweden provides for political defense. Meaning, if the reason for the extradition is connected to politics, and there are statements from the president and from Secretary Pompeo to support that, they won't extradite him," Napolitano said.

If Assange is successful with such a "political defense," Sweden would not be required to send him to the United States", he said.

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"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

Submitted by wendy davis on Tue, 05/21/2019 - 5:11pm
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@Fishtroller 02

as well. but i) napolitano is wrong: assange has never been charged with rape, ii) that so many laws have been broken already in the US, UK, and sweden that it's easy to believe that extreme pressure from Washington could trump what's left of the Rule of Law in any of those nations, an iii) julian won't have any choice in the matter.

that he can't even talk to his swedish lawyer per samulelson on the phone doesn't bode will as far as due process.

added to which, we were told that the amerikan grand jury that's mishandling his case had been about to issue subpoenas to both joushua shulte (the alleged leaker of the CIA files), and to assange detractor domsheit-berg (he'd even written a movie and a book about it) , former member of wikileaks, and they'd be offered immunity from their deeds by testifying against assange.

they've done their best to stitch a case of espionage/treason together that it's unprecedented in history, we've been told. next thing we may hear is after the evidentiary hearing on may 14. well...unless...who knows?

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