Assange Should Not Be Extradited to the U.S.
Leave it to European courts to decide whether to treat him as a spy or an investigative journalist.
Julian Assange’s uncomfortable six-year stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London is at an end. The standoff lasted long enough. The Wikileaks founder should be now legally cleared or convicted — just not in the U.S.
Moments after Ecuador withdrew Assange's asylum on Thursday, he was arrested by the U.K. police on charges of jumping bail. In 2010, a court had ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault charges. Assange, however, said he feared the accusations were just a pretext for his eventual extradition to the U.S., where he might be tried for publishing state secrets. The fear of being handed over to the U.S. drove him to seek refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy. The Swedish investigations have been dropped but the fear remained, motivating Assange to stay in the embassy even after he’d worn out his welcome and his ability to communicate with the outside world was curtailed by the Ecuadorians.