France says Assange isn’t in danger, denies asylum request

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will not find a home in France. “Mr Assange’s situation presents no immediate danger. He is also under a European arrest warrant”. In his open letter published in Le Monde newspaper on Friday, Assange described himself as a “journalist pursued and threatened with death by the United States’ authorities as a result of my professional activities”. “An in-depth review shows that in view of the legal and material elements of Mr Assange’s situation, France can not grant his request”, the statement said.

Hollande’s office had earlier issued a statement, denying Assange’s asylum request. It came after the French government indicated that such asylum may be granted in the wake of revelations of alleged NSA surveillance of senior French officials.

The WikiLeaks Twitter account was quick to note that Assange has not made a formal application for asylum.

Assange asked France for “the necessary protection” needed against his “political persecution”.

“France has received the letter from Mr Assange”.

French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said last week that she “wouldn’t be surprised” if France decided to offer asylum to both Assange and USA leaker Edward Snowden.

Such a gesture would be humanitarian and symbolic in nature, sending a message of encouragement to journalists and whistleblowers who take risks to reveal the truth, he believes. The WikiLeaks founder has been living in Ecuador’s embassy in London for more than three years seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is being investigated on bogus allegations of sexual assault.

The ex- computer hacker fears extradition to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States to face trial over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified USA military and diplomatic documents.