Orlando Sentinel

Lawyer: Ecuador spread lies about Assange’s behavior

- By Gregory Katz Associated Press

LONDON — A lawyer representi­ng WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange alleged Sunday that Ecuador’s government has spread lies about his behavior inside its embassy in London, where Assange sought asylum in 2012.

The South American country has claimed Assange actions deteriorat­ed before his arrest Thursday and included putting excrement on walls, leaving soiled laundry in the bathroom, and not properly looking after his cat.

Lawyer Jennifer Robinson told British TV network Sky News the Ecuadorian government is spreading alleged falsehoods to divert attention from its decision to revoke his asylum and allow his arrest at its British embassy last week.

“I think the first thing to say is Ecuador has been making some pretty outrageous allegation­s over the past few days to justify what was an unlawful and extraordin­ary act in allowing British police to come inside an embassy,” Robinson said.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno ended Assange’s protected status after more than six years. Moreno said Assange abused Ecuador’s goodwill, mistreated embassy staff and used his perch to try to interfere in other countries’ political affairs.

Assange has had “a very difficult time” since Moreno took office in Ecuador in 2017, Robinson said.

Assange is in custody at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London awaiting sentencing in Britain for skipping bail to avoid being sent to Sweden as part of an investigat­ion of a rape allegation. Sweden is considerin­g reviving the investigat­ion.

Sweden suspended its investigat­ion into possible sexual misconduct against Assange two years ago because he was beyond their reach while he was living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London with political asylum status.

The United States also is seeking his extraditio­n after charging him with conspiring to break into a Pentagon computer system, which could lead to competing extraditio­n demands.

U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid would be expected to have the final say in which claim takes priority.

There is mounting concern that Assange should not be allowed to sidestep the Swedish investigat­ion stemming from his 2010 visit to Sweden. The complaints from two women eventually led him to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

More than 70 British legislator­s have urged Javid to give priority to a case involving rape allegation­s ahead of the U.S. request.

He would not be expected to enter a plea to the Department of Justice case unless he loses his extraditio­n case and is brought to a courtroom in the United States.

Assange has denied the rape allegation, asserting the sex was consensual. He also has not formally responded to the U.S. conspiracy charge. His indictment was made public hours after his Thursday arrest, but Assange’s lawyers say he is a legitimate journalist whose prosecutio­n would have a chilling effect.

The extraditio­n court in Britain will not be judging the evidence against him, but will evaluate whether the crime he is accused of would be a crime in Britain.

Assange’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 2. In the meantime, he is expected to seek prison medical care for severe shoulder pain and dental problems, WikiLeaks has said.

Meanwhile, an ace Swedish programmer who was an early, ardent supporter of WikiLeaks has been arrested in Ecuador in an alleged plot to blackmail the country’s president over his abandonmen­t of Julian Assange.

But friends of Ola Bini say the soft-spoken encryption expert is being unfairly targeted for his activism on behalf of digital privacy.

The 36-year-old was arrested Thursday at the airport in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as he prepared to board a flight to Japan.

The arrest came hours after Assange’s eviction. Bini was carrying at least 30 electronic storage devices. His lawyers said they have not been notified whether he’s been charged.

 ?? ALASTAIR GRANT/AP ?? Jennifer Robinson, center, claims Ecuador lied about Julian Assange to justify his eviction last week.
ALASTAIR GRANT/AP Jennifer Robinson, center, claims Ecuador lied about Julian Assange to justify his eviction last week.

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