Saturday, April 13, 2019

Will Julian Assange Be Extradited? | Inside Story


WikiLeaks founder faces an uncertain future after being kicked out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. For 2,487 days, Julian Assange was within touching distance of the British police, but was always untouchable.

Assange was an unintended guest of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as he tried to avoid angry governments and accusations of sexual assault and hacking. But on Thursday that all changed, as Ecuador revoked his political asylum, and then allowed police into the embassy, where he was arrested on the spot.

It's a complicated story because there are many allegations across multiple countries. Some have been dropped on technicalities. This first arrest, dramatically played out in front of the media, was for breaching bail and could mean 12 months in prison. But then later Assange was arrested again at the request of the United States, which wants him extradited.

Is this all about freedom of speech? Or about a man hiding from charges against him?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria | Guests: Michael Patchett-Joyce, barrister in International and European law; Claire Finkelstein, Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Vaughan Smith, freelance journalist and personal friend of Julian Assange