Asylum

This Sunday, 19 June 2016, will mark four years that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. For the next seven days, a number of events will take place around the world to bring attention to this situation.

A full schedule of events can be found here.

A full schedule of speakers can be found here.

New speakers and events are being added continually.

This is a world event.

Per E Samuelson and Thomas Olsson write to SvD.

That a prosecutor can continue a preliminary investigation for four years and not question the suspect violates the demand for expediency. This is a strong reason to rescind the warrant against Julian Assange, write his lawyers.

Our client Julian Assange has been arrested in his absence for almost four years. He's spent the past two years at the Ecuador embassy in London, protected by political asylum. The London police guard the building day and night, but they can't enter the building. We have, time and again, demanded that the prosecutor [Marianne Ny] travel to London to question Assange. She refuses.

We've asked the Stockholm district court to rescind the warrant to break the deadlock. That would force the prosecutor to think differently. The matter will be dealt with in court 16 July.

What: Solidarity Vigil in Support of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
When: Thursday 19 June 2014 6-8pm
Where: Ecuadorian Embassy in London, No 3 Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge

Friday 28 March. The Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Behind him: a green screen, in front of which he films for Skype and the social networks. Threatened by the United States, the founder of WikiLeaks has been confined for two years to a room at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. He was visited by Eva Joly who is working on breaking the deadlock.

Retired Swedish district prosecutor Rolf Hillegren wrote a powerful op-ed for conservative daily SvD (Svenska Dagbladet) asking for the Assange case to be closed.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden met with German Green Party MP Hans-Christian Ströbele on 31 October regarding his being a witness for a possible investigation into NSA spying in Germany.

Edward Snowden has issued a statement to the Huffington Post regarding confusion about his current situation, and Julian Assange has spoken with Australia's The Age in the same vein.

1 August 2013, 16:00 UTC

Today, Thursday 1st August at 15:50 MSK, Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia. He left Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow with WikiLeaks staffer and legal advisor Sarah Harrison who has accompanied him during his 39 day stay in the transit zone and continues to do so. Ms Harrison has remained with Mr Snowden at all times to protect his safety and security, including during his exit from Hong Kong. They departed from the airport together in a taxi and are headed to a secure, confidential place.

MOSCOW - Edward Snowden has left the airport in Moscow, according to the WikiLeaks Twitter feed.

Both Nicaragua and Venezuela have now offered asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has already reject the US request for the rendition of Snowden.

Speaking at a televised parade celebrating Venezuela's independence from Spain on 5 July 1811, President Nicolás Maduro announced he will offer asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The green parties of France, Germany, Norway, Finland, and the UK have united in their support of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, urging the EU to grant him a safe haven.

Edward Snowden was expected to fly to Havana today at 14:05 Moscow time, together with WikiLeaks legal advisors. But Snowden's seat 17A was empty at takeoff, and no one seems to know where he is. Julian Assange has however stated that Snowden is safe and in good spirits. Assange says he knows where Snowden is but will not say.

Earlier this morning, WikiLeaks announced that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had left Hong Kong with the assistance of WikiLeaks legal advisors.

FLASH: WikiLeaks has assisted Mr. Snowden's political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers ans safe exit from Hong Kong. More soon.

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 23, 2013

Thursday December 20th, 19:00 GMT

(Not checked to delivery)

Six months ago - 185 days ago - I entered this building.

It has become my home, my office and my refuge.

Thanks to the principled stance of the Ecuadorian government and the support of its people I am safe in this Embassy and safe to speak from this Embassy.

And every single day outside, people like you have watched over this embassy - rain hail and shine.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa stated in an interview this month that his government would consider granting political asylum to Syrian head-of-state Bashar al Assad. President Assad is reportedly mulling asylum for himself, his family members, and close associates, in the event that he is forced to flee Damascus as the bloody civil war in his country escalates.

Sources state that, in a bid to explore the possibility of asylum, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal al Miqdad, recently traveled to Ecuador, Venezuela, and Cuba, bearing letters from Assad to the President of each country.

Correa confirmed that Miqdad visited Quito in late November, but said that the purpose of the trip was to thank Correa's administration for its "objective stance" regarding the conflict in Syria. Both Ecuador's President and his Foreign Minister denied reports that Assad had requested political asylum. However, since then Correa has spoken out regarding the possibility of hosting Assad, saying:
"Any person that requests asylum in Ecuador, obviously we are going to consider as a human being whose basic rights we have to respect … Can we believe all those news stories on violence, the dictator? Let's remember what was said about Iraq."

The WikiLeaks Collateral Murder website is now http://collateralmurder.org and is being protected by CloudFlare. The TrapWire surveillance technology revealed in the Global Intelligence Files continues to make headlines.

WikiLeaks News

• WikiLeaks quoted a forthcoming July poll saying "the more you earn, the more you believe a fair trial for Assange is impossible", "the younger, more educated you are, the more you support WikiLeaks", and "the more you earn and the older you are, the more sceptical you are of the US judiciary".