11.20am: The Ecuadorian decision on Wikileaks founder Julian Assang’s bid for asylum is due anytime now. In the meantime, the BBC has an interesting cheatsheet that details exactly what Assange is asking for, and how viable his bid may or may not be under international law.
10.32am: The Ecuadorian embassy has reportedly said it will bring forward its announcement on its decision to grant political asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. A comment on an unofficial video stream of events said that the announcement had been brought forward to 7am, London time from 10am London time. (Thats 11.30am Indian time)
British officials have vowed not grant Assange safe passage out of their country if Ecuador grants asylum. They say they will arrest him the moment he steps foot outside the embassy.
9.48am: Wikileaks is alleging that as many as five police vans have been brought outside the Ecuador embassy in a show of strength and have blocked off a major Harrods loading bay along the side of the embassy. It also tweeted that vehicles carrying tomorrow’s supplies have been turned away.
9.27am: Wikileaks is urging its supporters to go to the Ecuadorian embassy and make sure that UK police do not “violate international law” by taking founder Julian Assange under arrest. It has tweeted out the address of the embassy, as well as a Google maps link.
8.46am: Wikileaks has just tweeted that diplomatic police have just arrived at the Ecuadorian embassy.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Britain had earlier in the day issued “a written threat that it could assault our embassy” if Assange is not handed over. After Patino’s brief appearance before reporters, Britain’s Foreign Office issued a statement citing a 1987 British law it says permits the revocation of diplomatic status of a building if the foreign power occupying it “ceases to use land for the purposes of its mission or exclusively for the purposes of a consular post.”
Patino said Ecuador “rejects in the most energetic terms the explicit threat of the official British communication.”
The Foreign Office statement did not elaborate on Britain’s intentions if Assange were to be granted political asylum by Ecuador whose president, Rafael Correa, has expressed sympathy for the Wikileaks founder.
“We have an obligation to extradite Mr. Assange and it is only right that we give Ecuador (the) full picture,” the statement said, before adding: “We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.”
Under international law, diplomatic posts are considered the territory of the foreign nation.
8.40am: There have been protests in both Ecuador and the UK, over the UK’s “threat” to the Ecuadorian embassy over Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. In Quito, about 30 people yelling “England, what part don’t you understand, we are sovereign!” protested outside the British Embassy, and briefly trampled a British flag.
In London, a small group of Assange supporters were gathered outside the Ecuadorean embassy late Wednesday, according to live footage broadcast by a citizen journalist on the scene. The embassy was dark, although occasionally the curtains appeared to move.
British officials have vowed not grant Assange safe passage out of their country if Ecuador grants asylum. They say they will arrest him the moment he steps foot outside the embassy.
But they had not publicly suggested they might strip the embassy of its diplomatic inviolability.
However a British Foreign Office spokesperson says, “Under British law we can give them a week’s notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection. But that decision has not yet been taken. We are not going to do this overnight. We want to stress that we want a diplomatically agreeable solution.”
8.30am: The Ecuadorean government will announce its decision on Julian Assange’s appeal for political asylum at 10 o’clock tonight, Eastern Australian time.
However, contrary to media and Twitter speculation, British police have not raided Ecuador’s London embassy to arrest Assange to facilitate his extradition to Sweden.
However, contrary to media and Twitter speculation, British police have not raided Ecuador’s London embassy to arrest Assange to facilitate his extradition to Sweden.
8.10am: Wikileaks has just released a press release on the Ecuador and Assange situation, condemning the situation and calling it an attempt to “bully Ecuador into a decision that is agreeable to the United Kingdom and its allies.”
The statement added that “a threat of this nature is a hostile and extreme act, which is not proportionate to the circumstances, and an unprecedented assault on the rights of asylum seekers worldwide.”
Reiterating that Assange had not been charged with any crime in any country, and called for the immediate resignation of UK Secretary of state William Hague, who is believed to have taken this decision in the absence of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
8.00am: Ecuador has said it will announce its decision on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s application for asylum later today, after Britain reportedly threatened to enter the country’s embassy here to arrest him.
Ecuador and Britain appeared to have reached a diplomatic impasse over Assange, who has taken refuge in its embassy here. Britain says it is under legal obligation to extradite Assange to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault, while Ecuador insists that British authorities entering the embassy would violate the Vienna convention and would be considered a hostile act.
Reuters.
According to Ecuador’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino, Britain had issued a ‘threat’ to enter the country’s embassy in London in a letter served by a British embassy official in Quito.
A decision on Assange’s asylum application will be announced today at 0530 IST, he said. Britain believes that it can withdraw diplomatic immunity and then enter the embassy under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act, 1987.
Reports from Quito quoted extracts of the British embassy letter: “You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr Assange in the current premises of the Embassy.”
The letter added: “We need to reiterate that we consider the continued use of the diplomatic premises in this way incompatible with the Vienna Convention and unsustainable and we have made clear the serious implications that this has for our diplomatic relations.”
An Ecuadorean government spokesman said: “We are deeply shocked by the British government’s threats against the sovereignty of the Ecuadorean Embassy and their suggestion that they may forcibly enter the embassy”. He added: “This a clear breach of international law and the protocols set out in the Vienna Convention. This stands in stark contrast to the escalation of the British Government today with their threats to break down the door of the Ecuadorean Embassy”.
In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We have consistently made our position clear in our discussions with the government of Ecuador. ”The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation”.
She added: “We have an obligation to extradite Mr Assange and it is only right that we give Ecuador the full picture. ”Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadoreans’ attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK. We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
Edited By Cen Fox Post Team
