Julian Assange Announces Plan to Leave Ecuadorian Embassy 'Soon'

[Chef Ramsay]

LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announced Monday that after spending two years in the Embassy of Ecuador in London he will "soon" leave the diplomatic safe harbor.

He made the comments during a joint press conference with Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino. Assange did not elaborate on the timing or address whether an impasse over his potential extradition had been resolved.

It was suggested in the British press over the weekend that Assange may need hospital treatment for a heart defect and lung condition and that any move could be to remedy those suspected health problems.

However, Assange refused to be drawn on those specific points Monday, saying only that when he does leave it will "probably not" be for the reasons reported on.

More...http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/18/julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuadorian-embassy-london/14219537/

[Sunderland]

maybe he already spit all the secret and began tired in his adventure now.
or maybe Ecuadorian feel " its not wise to let this matter become their country problems in the future "

[beetcoin]

there are many ways to take care of vitamin d deficiency, aren't there? quite a weird claim. can't they also send an ecuadorian doctor to him for a visit?

[countryfree]

I don't understand why he announces he's about to move. He should have left without a fuss, now there will be people looking for him.

[koshgel]

there are many ways to take care of vitamin d deficiency, aren't there? quite a weird claim. can't they also send an ecuadorian doctor to him for a visit?

Not really that weird after being stuck in a building for two years. You want to produce the vitamin D naturally.

It also states he may have heart and lung problems. It could just be a reason for him to move locations as well.

[negafen]

I don't understand why he announces he's about to move. He should have left without a fuss, now there will be people looking for him.

He craves for attention. This guy probably wanted to get arrested.

[shogdite]

there are many ways to take care of vitamin d deficiency, aren't there? quite a weird claim. can't they also send an ecuadorian doctor to him for a visit?

Not really that weird after being stuck in a building for two years. You want to produce the vitamin D naturally.

It also states he may have heart and lung problems. It could just be a reason for him to move locations as well.

Can't be too healthy being stuck inside for 2 years, not sure what his plan is but I'm fairly sure as soon as he steps outside he'll be arrested.

Always imagined he'd try and do a runner...

[superpanos2]

Great news, but what happens next?
I'm curious how he is going to make it!

[newflesh]

Julian Assange will not leave embassy until assured there will be no US extradition

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/19/julian-assange-will-not-leave-embassy-until-assured-there-will-be-no-us-extradition/

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not leave the Ecuador embassy in London until it is guaranteed he will avoid extradition to the United States, his lawyer said Tuesday.

The Australian, who has been holed up in the building for two years, indicated on Monday he would leave the compound “soon” amid reports that he was suffering from a heart condition and other ailments.

His lawyer Jennifer Robinson admitted to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that being cooped up had significantly impacted the 43-year-old’s health, but said it was difficult to put a timeline on when he would leave.

“(He will leave) as soon as conditions can be negotiated that allow Julian to leave the embassy while his political asylum, to protect him from the risk of extradition to the US, is respected,” she said.

“And we haven’t seen that happen yet".”

[countryfree]

I don't understand why he announces he's about to move. He should have left without a fuss, now there will be people looking for him.

He craves for attention. This guy probably wanted to get arrested.

You don't stay two years without going out, to want to be arrested. I guess he's looking for support, maybe hundreds of people to gather in front of the embassy when he'll go out, with the hope to escape the police in the crowd?

[bitsmichel]

I don't understand why he announces he's about to move. He should have left without a fuss, now there will be people looking for him.

He craves for attention. This guy probably wanted to get arrested.

You don't stay two years without going out, to want to be arrested. I guess he's looking for support, maybe hundreds of people to gather in front of the embassy when he'll go out, with the hope to escape the police in the crowd?

Most people think Assange did the right thing. There would not be a fair trial in Sweden nor the US.
After all, look at what happened to Bradley Manning. Secret courts, secret laws...
Meanwhile the UK police wastes millions of pounds watching an embassy (an utterly useless project) - and of course, there is financial crisis  

Speaking about fair trials.. (there never has been a trial)

[CoinsForTech]

I'll be very interested to see how this pans out. The UK has not spent £6,000,000 in guarding the embassy to simply let him walk away. Source. Tax payer money well spent for the brits.

I just hope he gets the trial he deserves but honestly I am not confident.

[DavidHume]

I doubt he has much choice in regard to which country he can go.

Beside Russia, China and Iran, which country will risk pissing off US and take him in as refugee?

[CoinsForTech]

I doubt he has much choice in regard to which country he can go.

Beside Russia, China and Iran, which country will risk pissing off US and take him in as refugee?

As soon as he steps foot outside that embassy he is gone. It is guarded 24 hours. I very much doubt he'll even get the opportunity to go elsewhere.

[newflesh]

I'll be very interested to see how this pans out. The UK has not spent £6,000,000 in guarding the embassy to simply let him walk away. Source. Tax payer money well spent for the brits.

I just hope he gets the trial he deserves but honestly I am not confident.

Exactly, the UK gov isn't going to spend that much money and then let him walk free to the nearest hospital (I'd imagine the US gov has also got some feds nearby).

Soon as he steps outside he'll be arrested, wondering why he couldn't get treatment inside the embassy.

[Lethn]

I didn't even know they spent that much money keeping watch on him but that fact that they have clearly means that they're wanting him for reasons that have nothing to do with the rape allegations, why? They never spend that much time and energy catching actual rapists and murderers in this country, in fact they give them less jailtime than filesharers.

[MoonRise]

Wherever he goes now, he will cause more taxpayer money to keep him confined. What is the point of even leaving the embassy? He was there for a reason, I think they had him there for government purposes.

[sana8410]

Whatever health issues he has ,he is responsible for. He has allegedly leaked important classified information. If he is extradited back to the USA he will be given due process. He has chosen not to have his date in court. Therefore, he has to accept the consequences of his actions which has resulted in his poor health. The USA is not barbaric he would not be shot on the spot. Ask the terrorists that have been incarcerated . No sympathy just a fair trial is all he deserves.

[umair127]

A life of self-imposed imprisonment in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London versus the unknowns of legal battles in Sweden or the US - While an unenviable choice, I can see why Assange has decided to fly the coop. But why advertise the fact? It will only put his adversaries on hyper-alert.

[itsAj]

there are many ways to take care of vitamin d deficiency, aren't there? quite a weird claim. can't they also send an ecuadorian doctor to him for a visit?

Not really that weird after being stuck in a building for two years. You want to produce the vitamin D naturally.

It also states he may have heart and lung problems. It could just be a reason for him to move locations as well.

Can't be too healthy being stuck inside for 2 years, not sure what his plan is but I'm fairly sure as soon as he steps outside he'll be arrested.

Always imagined he'd try and do a runner...

I am sure that he is able to get some level of exercise in the Embassy, he can likely at the very least walk around the building, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it doesn't have some kind of exercising facility. I would not at all be surprised if he is not being negatively affected by the lack of being able to go outside at all.