From his bunker, Assange refuses police extradition warrant
By Georgie Keate
Julian Assange has refused to acknowledge an extradition notice, saying his asylum plea to Ecuador takes precedence over it.
The man facing sexual assault and rape charges has been holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy because he believes America has secret plans to charge him for his Wikileaks work.
Scotland Yard issued a surrender notice yesterday for Mr Assange to attend Belgravia police station at 11.30 BST.
When asked if he intended to give himself up, he said "almost certainly not" to BBC 2's Newsnight.
"Our advice is that asylum law both domestically and internationally in the UK takes precedence to extradition law," he added.
The Australian has denied all the charges against him and cannot be arrested unless he leaves the embassy building in Knightsbridge where he has been hiding for nine days.
Numerous celebrities such as Oliver Stone and Michael Moore are also convinced the charges are a conspiracy to have Mr Assange extradited to the US.
They have written to the Ecuadorian government urging them to grant the accused protection because they believe he could face the death penalty in the US if found guilty under the Espionage Act.
"This is clear case of an attack on press freedom and on the public's right to know important truths about US foreign policy," the letter claims.
A police spokesperson has said that the surrender notice is the "first step in the removal process". They are waiting to see what Mr Assange's next move will be.
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Tags:
- extradition ,
- julian assange ,
- wikileaks
