4 ms·

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-refoulement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-refoulement

peteretep 8y ago
> to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" Which, precisely, of these categories do you think he fits under here?
- malms 8y ago
  membership of a particular social group or political opinion
  - envy2 8y ago
    I'm relatively neutral on Wikileaks/Assange, but this is a stretch. I don't think "illegally leaking documents" counts as a political opinion any more than I should be entitled to asylum because I have a "political opinion" that MDMA synthesis should be legal and got caught for engaging in it. That's intended to cover things like persecution solely for being a member of a political party.
    - malms 8y ago
      it's not so much a stretch to say "transparency" is a political opinion.. i'm not even so much agreeing with what he did and full transparency, but to me all of this is clearly political.
      - themacguffinman 8y ago
        Everything is political opinion, but the legal standards are much narrower. The idea that I can hold a political opinion that "I should not be arrested for breaking laws", break a law, and then expect not to be arrested because of my political opinion is ridiculous.
  - toby- 8y ago
    I'm firmly against his potential extradition to any other country, but let's be honest -- he's not exactly in trouble with British authorities due to his "political opinions", is he?
    - malms 8y ago
      why is he in trouble for then ?
      - foldr 8y ago
        Skipping bail.
      - toby- 8y ago
        Skipping bail. For refusing to surrender to the court after he was released on bail, following his arrest for questioning over sexual assault allegations.
        djsumdog 8y ago
        From charges that were dropped.
        peteretep 8y ago
        A central tenet of the UK legal system is that people on bail don't get to unilaterally decide they should just be able to skip it.
        DanBC 8y ago
        Also, the victims of crime don't get to "press charges" ro "drop charges", that's for the CPS.
        sambe 8y ago
        The charges were dropped because the warrants could not be served.
  - u320 8y ago
    There is no obvious threat of persecution. Facing rape charges certainly doesn't qualify.
  - FireBeyond 8y ago
    Assange is in danger of "persecution" based on his avoidance of the judicial process. That's not a protected class.
- TumorousJoker 8y ago
  > > membership of a particular social group or political opinion
threeseed 8y ago
You missed the key point. It's up to the Ecuadorian government to decide whether the threat of danger is legitimate or not.
stupidcar 8y ago
It says it applies to the generic repatriation of refugees, not the specific repatriation of a political asylum seeker like Assange. There's also no evidence that Assange faces political persecution in the UK. His stated concern is about extradition to the USA, in which case he should apply for political asylum in the UK.
- anoncake 8y ago
  > His stated concern is about extradition to the USA, in which case he should apply for political asylum in the UK. If I faced extradition to the USA, I am not sure if I would trust the UK to protect me.
86carr 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik

> to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" Which, precisely, of these categories do you think he fits under here?

malms 8y ago
membership of a particular social group or political opinion
- envy2 8y ago
  I'm relatively neutral on Wikileaks/Assange, but this is a stretch. I don't think "illegally leaking documents" counts as a political opinion any more than I should be entitled to asylum because I have a "political opinion" that MDMA synthesis should be legal and got caught for engaging in it. That's intended to cover things like persecution solely for being a member of a political party.
  - malms 8y ago
    it's not so much a stretch to say "transparency" is a political opinion.. i'm not even so much agreeing with what he did and full transparency, but to me all of this is clearly political.
    - themacguffinman 8y ago
      Everything is political opinion, but the legal standards are much narrower. The idea that I can hold a political opinion that "I should not be arrested for breaking laws", break a law, and then expect not to be arrested because of my political opinion is ridiculous.
- toby- 8y ago
  I'm firmly against his potential extradition to any other country, but let's be honest -- he's not exactly in trouble with British authorities due to his "political opinions", is he?
  - malms 8y ago
    why is he in trouble for then ?
    - foldr 8y ago
      Skipping bail.
    - toby- 8y ago
      Skipping bail. For refusing to surrender to the court after he was released on bail, following his arrest for questioning over sexual assault allegations.
      - djsumdog 8y ago
        From charges that were dropped.
        peteretep 8y ago
        A central tenet of the UK legal system is that people on bail don't get to unilaterally decide they should just be able to skip it.
        DanBC 8y ago
        Also, the victims of crime don't get to "press charges" ro "drop charges", that's for the CPS.
        sambe 8y ago
        The charges were dropped because the warrants could not be served.
- u320 8y ago
  There is no obvious threat of persecution. Facing rape charges certainly doesn't qualify.
- FireBeyond 8y ago
  Assange is in danger of "persecution" based on his avoidance of the judicial process. That's not a protected class.
TumorousJoker 8y ago
> > membership of a particular social group or political opinion

threeseed 8y ago

You missed the key point. It's up to the Ecuadorian government to decide whether the threat of danger is legitimate or not.

stupidcar 8y ago

It says it applies to the generic repatriation of refugees, not the specific repatriation of a political asylum seeker like Assange. There's also no evidence that Assange faces political persecution in the UK. His stated concern is about extradition to the USA, in which case he should apply for political asylum in the UK.

anoncake 8y ago
> His stated concern is about extradition to the USA, in which case he should apply for political asylum in the UK. If I faced extradition to the USA, I am not sure if I would trust the UK to protect me.

86carr 8y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik