4 ms·

It’s disingenuous to imply he’s being held against his will in violation of his human rights when in fact the UK government has gone to great lengths to get him

It’s disingenuous to imply he’s being held against his will in violation of his human rights when in fact the UK government has gone to great lengths to get him to show up to a criminal investigation, and his appeals in the courts were entirely ordinary.

geowwy 8y ago
In effect he is being held against his will, since he will almost definitely be extradited if he leaves the embassy.
- lsh 8y ago
  No, he really isn't. But he will almost definitely be extradited the moment he lives the embassy. It might be a refugee situation, fleeing the US in fear of his life, but he's from Australia..
  - geowwy 8y ago
    His choice is either stay in the embassy or extradition to the US where he will face a very severe penalties, possibly the death sentence. Technically he's not being held against his will. But the reality is he can't leave.
    - viraptor 8y ago
      > possibly the death sentence. What? Is there any reasonable source claiming that's remotely possible?
      - newnewpdro 8y ago
        https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/11/assange_death_penalty/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/11/assange_death_penal... Penalties have gone pretty sideways in the US when it comes to being associated with terrorism, and what qualifies as terrorism extremely broad and nebulous.
        rmc 8y ago
        An EU country cannot fulfil an extradition if there's a chance of the death penalty.
        newnewpdro 8y ago
        My impression of the question is if there's a credible threat of death penalty, not if the EU would extradite should there be one.
        dragonwriter 8y ago
        > An EU country cannot fulfil an extradition if there's a chance of the death penalty. Who says the UK will be an EU country if/when it gets around to extraditing him? I mean, the bail jumping charges should give them some leeway on timing.
        realityking 8y ago
        That might be an argument today but hardly 7 years ago.
        yakshaving_jgt 8y ago
        I've read that, and then I've also read cases of Sweden doing exactly that anyway.
      - matthewmacleod 8y ago
        There is close to no chance of this; the UK government is prevented by law from extraditing people into situations where they may face the death penalty.
    - threeseed 8y ago
      > But the reality is he can't leave Of course he can. He can walk out the door right now. He chooses not to leave because he doesn't want to deal with the consequences of what he has done. You may not agree with that but it's an undeniable fact.
      - ryanlol 8y ago
        I've been to prisons where you can simply walk out of the door, are those not prisons? Yours is the weirdest argument imaginable, he's forced to stay in the embassy or he'll be arrested. That is exactly how essentially all western prisons work, some of them might throw minor obstacles on the way to prevent you from walking out but it's rarely that hard.
        threeseed 8y ago
        If you walk out of a prison you are guaranteed to be arrested, charged, have a lengthier sentence and then placed in a prison where you can’t simple walk out. Assange is in a diplomatic embassy. He can walk out. He may not even be arrested, detained or extradited. In fact nobody knows what will happen.
        ryanlol 8y ago
        >He may not even be arrested, detained or extradited. In fact nobody knows what will happen. Ah yes, all those cops have spent years outside the embassy just for fun. >Police said in a statement there is an active warrant for Assange’s arrest and that the police are “obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy.” Either the Police are being dishonest or you are.
        fastball 8y ago
        People in prison have had a trial. He has not had a trial, so he neither belongs in prison nor doesn't belong in a prison. He needs to have a trial first. Do you use the same argument for people that jump bail? "He's on the run because if he wasn't on the run he would be arrested and face trial, therefore he has no choice in the matter?" Because that's the argument you're making, and it's a ridiculous one.
black-tea 8y ago
It's pathetic pedantry to say he isn't, as if you can even begin to imagine his situation.

geowwy 8y ago

In effect he is being held against his will, since he will almost definitely be extradited if he leaves the embassy.

lsh 8y ago
No, he really isn't. But he will almost definitely be extradited the moment he lives the embassy. It might be a refugee situation, fleeing the US in fear of his life, but he's from Australia..
- geowwy 8y ago
  His choice is either stay in the embassy or extradition to the US where he will face a very severe penalties, possibly the death sentence. Technically he's not being held against his will. But the reality is he can't leave.
  - viraptor 8y ago
    > possibly the death sentence. What? Is there any reasonable source claiming that's remotely possible?
    - newnewpdro 8y ago
      https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/11/assange_death_penalty/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/11/assange_death_penal... Penalties have gone pretty sideways in the US when it comes to being associated with terrorism, and what qualifies as terrorism extremely broad and nebulous.
      - rmc 8y ago
        An EU country cannot fulfil an extradition if there's a chance of the death penalty.
        newnewpdro 8y ago
        My impression of the question is if there's a credible threat of death penalty, not if the EU would extradite should there be one.
        dragonwriter 8y ago
        > An EU country cannot fulfil an extradition if there's a chance of the death penalty. Who says the UK will be an EU country if/when it gets around to extraditing him? I mean, the bail jumping charges should give them some leeway on timing.
        realityking 8y ago
        That might be an argument today but hardly 7 years ago.
        yakshaving_jgt 8y ago
        I've read that, and then I've also read cases of Sweden doing exactly that anyway.
    - matthewmacleod 8y ago
      There is close to no chance of this; the UK government is prevented by law from extraditing people into situations where they may face the death penalty.
  - threeseed 8y ago
    > But the reality is he can't leave Of course he can. He can walk out the door right now. He chooses not to leave because he doesn't want to deal with the consequences of what he has done. You may not agree with that but it's an undeniable fact.
    - ryanlol 8y ago
      I've been to prisons where you can simply walk out of the door, are those not prisons? Yours is the weirdest argument imaginable, he's forced to stay in the embassy or he'll be arrested. That is exactly how essentially all western prisons work, some of them might throw minor obstacles on the way to prevent you from walking out but it's rarely that hard.
      - threeseed 8y ago
        If you walk out of a prison you are guaranteed to be arrested, charged, have a lengthier sentence and then placed in a prison where you can’t simple walk out. Assange is in a diplomatic embassy. He can walk out. He may not even be arrested, detained or extradited. In fact nobody knows what will happen.
        ryanlol 8y ago
        >He may not even be arrested, detained or extradited. In fact nobody knows what will happen. Ah yes, all those cops have spent years outside the embassy just for fun. >Police said in a statement there is an active warrant for Assange’s arrest and that the police are “obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy.” Either the Police are being dishonest or you are.
      - fastball 8y ago
        People in prison have had a trial. He has not had a trial, so he neither belongs in prison nor doesn't belong in a prison. He needs to have a trial first. Do you use the same argument for people that jump bail? "He's on the run because if he wasn't on the run he would be arrested and face trial, therefore he has no choice in the matter?" Because that's the argument you're making, and it's a ridiculous one.

black-tea 8y ago

It's pathetic pedantry to say he isn't, as if you can even begin to imagine his situation.