Julian Assange ‘Arbitrarily Detained — UN Panel

“We’ve said it from the beginning, but now we’re not the only ones”.

Earlier UNs Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) said that Assanges stay at the embassy and his previous experience with the Swedish and British legal systems amounted to arbitrary detention by Britain and Sweden.

The UN panel also called upon United Kingdom and Swedish authorities “to assess the situation” of the WikiLeaks founder and “ensure his safety and physical integrity” and to “facilitate the exercise of his right to freedom of movement in an expedient manner”.

“Julian Assange is a fugitive from justice”.

The UK government said that it disagrees with the ruling, stating that Assange has not been under detention is a free to leave at any time. Both countries participated in the inquiry and now seek to pull out because they “don’t like the outcome” he said.

The WikiLeaks founder says it is “now a matter of settled law” that he has been wrongly detained. This leaves the question of what would happen to Assange if he chooses to leave the embassy as he said he would.

SW’s solicitor Elisabeth Massi Fritz told the Mirror: “The panel seems to have a lack of understanding of the fact the alleged rape of a woman is one of the most serious violations and abuses of human rights”.

From Geneva, UN human rights official Christophe Peschoux said the panel had made a 3-to-1 decision in Assange’s favor. Sweden also rejected the United Nations panel’s finding.

Assange was granted political asylum by Ecuador, which has housed him since 2012 at its embassy where he lives in a small room and has likened his confinement to living in a space station.

Ms Bishop met members of Mr Assange’s legal team in London on Thursday afternoon.

She called the decision “incredibly important”.

Not only are Britain and Sweden by their actions “weakening worldwide law” Mr. Assange noted, at a diplomatic level the countries will not be treated seriously as “international players that obey global obligations”.

Olsson welcomed the ruling that Assange has been arbitrarily detained, which he called “a pretty positive message”, adding it was “totally in line with the argumentation we have presented”.

“It is now completely unfair that Julian himself has become a victim due to his whistleblowing activities and as a result has suffered uncharged indefinite detention for over five years”.

The UN Working Group does not have the authority to order the release of a detainee – and Friday’s ruling in unlikely to change the legal issues facing Assange – but it has considered many high-profile cases and its backing carries a moral weight that puts pressure on governments. “We can only note that the working panel has come to another conclusion than Swedish judicial authorities”, a ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

Assange fears that if he went to Sweden, he could then be sent to the U.S. and face prison.

“The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the various forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention”, the group’s head, Seong-Phil Hong, said in a statement. It helps to influence governments but is not legally binding.