- Title: WikiLeaks founder Assange remanded in jail after brief UK court hearing
- Date: 11th October 2019
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - FEBRUARY 5, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE UN WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, HONG SEONG-PHIL, SITTING AT HIS OFFICE AND TALKING VARIOUS OF STATEMENT ON ARBITRARY DETENTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE FROM THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP PLACED ON DESK (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIR-RAPPORTEUR OF THE U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, HONG SEONG-PHIL, SAYING: "The Working Group maintains the arbitrary detention of Mr. Assange should be brought to an end, and his physical integrity and his freedom of movement should be respected. And finally if necessary, he should be entitled to an enforceable right to remedy, for example, compensation." LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - FEBRUARY 5, 2016) (REUTERS) MEDIA GATHERING OUTSIDE ECUADORIAN EMBASSY IN LONDON, WAITING FOR ASSANGE TO APPEAR ON THE BALCONY MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING WHILE HOLDING UP U.N. PANEL DECISION: "How sweet it is. This is a victory that cannot be denied. It's a victory of historic importance, not just for me, for my family, for my children, but for the independence of the U.N. system." VARIOUS OF ASSANGE SPEAKING FROM BALCONY (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING: "The U.N. last night issued a statement stating that the determination is legally binding (CROWD CHEERING). There have been comments from Philip Hammond, the Foreign Minister of this country, today saying this changes nothing." MEDIA ASSANGE LEAVING BALCONY PEOPLE OUTSIDE EMBASSY BERLIN, GERMANY (FILE - OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS PRESENTER CONGRATULATING WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE FOR HIS BIRTHDAY PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING [VIA VIDEO CALL]: "There has been a misquoting of me and WikiLeaks publications. In this particular case, misquoting has to do with we intend to harm Hillary Clinton or I intend to harm Hillary Clinton or that I don't like Hillary Clinton. All those are false. They come about as a result, principally, it seems of this campaign and this trying to personalise our publications. And our upcoming publications are significant publications for the US' election, yes, we think they are significant." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - MAY 19, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN EMBASSY AND ITS BALCONY / MEDIA GATHERED OUTSIDE ECUADORIAN FLAG FLYING EMBASSY / MEDIA WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE WALKING ONTO EMBASSY'S BALCONY, MAKING CLENCHED FIST IN THE AIR (SOUNDBITE) (English) WIKILEAKS FOUNDER, JULIAN ASSANGE, SAYING: "Today is an important victory for me and for the U.N. human rights system. But it by no means erases seven years of detention without charge, imprisoned under house arrest and almost five years here in this embassy without sunlight. Seven years without charge while my children grew up without me. That is not something I can forgive, it is not something I can forget." MEDIA GATHERED QUITO, ECUADOR (FILE - JANUARY 11, 2018) (REUTERS) ECUADORIAN FLAG EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MARIA FERNANDA ESPINOSA, ENTERING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MARIA FERNANDA ESPINOSA, SAYING: "Another alternative refers to the process of naturalization of Mr. Assange. He asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility for his naturalization on September 16, 2017. Once - of course - he had been a person under international protection for about five and a half years under the jurisdiction of the Ecuadorian State in its embassy in in London. That naturalization was granted on December 12, 2017." LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - FEBRUARY 13, 2018) (REUTERS) PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES OF "EMBASSY CAT" IN ECUADORIAN EMBASSY WINDOW WITH RAINBOW TIE ASSANGE'S "EMBASSY CAT" IN WINDOW EXTERIOR OF ECUADORIAN EMBASSY ECUADORIAN FLAG OUTSIDE EMBASSY / CAT IN WINDOW VARIOUS OF "EMBASSY CAT" IN WINDOW
- Embargoed: 25th October 2019 11:51
- Keywords: Julian Assange London Sweden Ecuadorian embassy appeal arrest warrent Ecuador wikileaks
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, AND NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES / BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ LONDON, ENGLAND/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM / BERLIN, GERMANY/ QUITO, ECUADOR
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, AND NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES / BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ LONDON, ENGLAND/ UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM / BERLIN, GERMANY/ QUITO, ECUADOR
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00OB0O4W93
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE
WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was remanded in custody on Friday (October 11) after a brief hearing in a London court which will decide whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges.
Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the U.S. including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.
Appearing by video link from Belmarsh Prison in east London, Assange, bearded and wearing a purple sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm his name and age before he was remanded in prison until his next hearing later this month.
"I very much hope we can make some progress on this case," Judge Tam Ikram told him at the end of the five-minute hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Australian-born Assange came to prominence when WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010, angering Washington which said he had put lives at risk.
In 2012, he took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was accused of sex crimes which he denied, saying he believed he would ultimately be sent on to the United Sates.
He was dragged from the embassy in April after seven years and given a 50-week jail term for skipping bail. That sentence was completed last month but he remains in prison while his extradition case continues.
He is due to appear in court again, this time in person, on Oct. 21 with the full extradition hearing due to start on Feb. 25 next year. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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