nir Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Tentative plot to whisk fugitive from London embassy on Christmas Eve was considered too risky Russian diplomats held secret talks in London last year with people close to Julian Assange to assess whether they could help him flee the UK, the Guardian has learned. A tentative plan was devised that would have seen the WikiLeaks founder smuggled out of Ecuador’s London embassy in a diplomatic vehicle and transported to another country. One ultimate destination, multiple sources have said, was Russia, where Assange would not be at risk of extradition to the US. The plan was abandoned after it was deemed too risky. The operation to extract Assange was provisionally scheduled for Christmas Eve in 2017, one source claimed, and was linked to an unsuccessful attempt by Ecuador to give Assange formal diplomatic status. Location of Ecuadorian embassy in London The involvement of Russian officials in hatching what was described as a “basic” plan raises new questions about Assange’s ties to the Kremlin. The WikiLeaks editor is a key figure in the ongoing US criminal investigation into Russia’s attempts to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Robert Mueller, the special counsel conducting the investigation, filed criminal charges in July against a dozen Russian GRU military intelligence officers who allegedly hacked Democratic party servers during the presidential campaign. The indictment claims the hackers sent emails that embarrassed Hillary Clinton to WikiLeaks. The circumstances of the handover are still under investigation. According to Mueller, WikiLeaks published “over 50,000 documents” stolen by Russian spies. The first tranche arrived on 14 July 2016 as an encrypted attachment. Assange has denied receiving the stolen emails from Russia. Details of the Assange escape plan are sketchy. Two sources familiar with the inner workings of the Ecuadorian embassy said that Fidel Narváez, a close confidant of Assange who until recently served as Ecuador’s London consul, served as a point of contact with Moscow. In an interview with the Guardian, Narváez denied having been involved in discussions with Russia about extracting Assange from the embassy. Narváez said he visited Russia’s embassy in Kensington twice this year as part of a group of “20-30 more diplomats from different countries”. These were “open-public meetings”, he said, that took place during the “UK-Russian crisis” – a reference to the aftermath of the novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March. Map of Assange's quarters in the Ecuadorian embassy Sources said the escape plot involved giving Assange diplomatic documents so that Ecuador would be able to claim he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. As part of the operation, Assange was to be collected from the embassy in a diplomatic vehicle. Four separate sources said the Kremlin was willing to offer support for the plan – including the possibility of allowing Assange to travel to Russia and live there. One of them said that an unidentified Russian businessman served as an intermediary in these discussions. The possibility that Assange could travel to Ecuador by boat was also considered. Narváez previously played a role in trying to secure Edward Snowden’s safe passage following his leak of secret NSA material in 2013. Narváez gave the former NSA contractor a so-called safe-conduct pass when he left Hong Kong for Moscow, where Snowden eventually found asylum. At the time, the then president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, said Narváez had issued the pass without the government’s knowledge. The Spanish-language broadcaster Univision reported that Narváez travelled to Moscow the same day that he issued the safe passage document to Snowden; other sources have corroborated this report. Assange’s Christmas Eve escape was aborted with just days to go, one source claimed. Rommy Vallejo, the head of Ecuador’s intelligence agency, allegedly travelled to the UK on or around 15 December 2017 to oversee the operation and left London when it was called off. In February Vallejo quit his job and is believed to be in Nicaragua. He is under investigation for the alleged kidnapping in 2012 of a political rival to Correa. Ecuador’s new president, Lenín Moreno, has said he wants Assange to quit the embassy. In March the government in Quito cut off his internet access and restricted his visitors. Melinda Taylor, a lawyer specialising in human rights and international criminal law who represents Assange, has denounced his confinement in the embassy. “I think it is shocking that Assange has been detained arbitrarily for approximately eight years for publishing evidence of war crimes and human rights violations. The UK could end this situation today, by providing assurances that Assange will not be extradited to the United States.” Sources offered conflicting accounts of who cancelled the Assange operation, but all agreed it was deemed to be too risky. The stumbling block was the UK’s refusal to grant Assange diplomatic protection. Under UK law, diplomats are immune from criminal prosecution if their diplomatic credentials have been accepted by the British government, and if the Foreign Office has been alerted to the diplomat’s status. This is not the first time Assange has apparently considered seeking refuge in Russia. The Associated Press reported this week that the WikiLeaks founder tried to obtain a Russian visa. He signed a letter in November 2010 granting power of attorney to “my friend” Israel Shamir – a controversial supporter who passed leaked US state department cables from Assange to journalists in Moscow. Shamir would deliver Assange’s passport to the Russian consulate, and collect it afterwards, Assange wrote. At the time Assange was facing allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women in Sweden. In 2012 he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy after he lost a battle against extradition in the supreme court. Assange denies the women’s claims. Swedish authorities eventually dropped both cases after the statute of limitations expired. Assange faces arrest for breaching his bail conditions. During the US presidential campaign, Donald Trump praised WikiLeaks for releasing the emails that damaged Clinton. Confidential visitor logs obtained by the Guardian reveal that Assange received several Russian nationals during the summer of 2016, including senior figures from RT, the Kremlin’s international propaganda channel. In March 2017 WikiLeaks published confidential CIA documents. Assange believes a grand jury indicted him over this and other leaks, with the charges filed under seal. Were he to leave the embassy the US would seek his extradition, his lawyers say. The Ecuadorian government declined to comment. The Russian embassy in London tweeted on Friday that the Guardian story was “another example of disinformation and fake news from the British media”. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowledge-Spammer Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 is no more secret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 On 9/21/2018 at 5:29 PM, knowledge said: is no more secret Its fake news like what sputnik news said Reports on Moscow Plans to Help Assange Escape Are 'Fake News' - Russian Embassy https://sputniknews.com/world/201809211068235522-russian-embassy-uk-assange/ Quote 1. It is false that giving Julian Assange diplomatic status is news. It has been widely discussed for almost a year by Ecuador and the international bar and has nothing, whatsover, to do with Russia: https://t.co/SZT9F36e7F — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) September 21, 2018 2. The fabulist nature of the article can been seen in the line that claims that there was a plan to "travel to Ecuador by boat". To do so would require sailing through the acrtic--in winter, or down to antarctic and around Cape Horn. The Panama Canal is controlled by the U.S. 3. "He signed a letter in November 2010 granting power of attorney". No he didn't but this is a good example. The claimed letter is not signed, is not a power of attorney, and is literally from someone convicted in court of fabricating documents. 4. "Shamir would deliver Assange’s passport to the Russian consulate, and collect it afterwards, Assange wrote." -- no he didn't. Assange's passport is in the possession of the UK government who can confirm there is no such visa and who would have certainly used it to oppose bail. 5. "Swedish authorities eventually dropped both cases after the statute of limitations expired". False. He was never charged. Expiry would have been 2020. Sweden closed its 'preliminary investigation' after court action. https://justice4assange.com/ 6. There is only one source named in the article, Fidel Narváez, who confirms the claims are false. Nor is there any documentary support. It would not be surprising to see Narváez, who lives in the UK with his British wife and children, sue the Guardian for libeling him. 7. A good example of Harding's conspiracy mongering is shown here in this recent interview. Russia, as a state with a significant military and intelligence service has questions to answer, but Harding, as a cash-grabbing fabulist isn't the man to ask them. What really happen was Ecuador wanted to make Julian Assange a diplomat and send him to Moscow But the UK's Foreign Office did not accept diplomatic status, so plan was scuttled. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/09/ecuador-wanted-to-make-julian-assange-a-diplomat-and-send-him-to-moscow/ Julian Assange has never been indicted on any charges in the USA yet, so they dont really think he done anything or they would send papers to Ecuador and they would get him, if they really wanted him but they never have filled any charges against him. The reason he ended up in that embassy was he jumped bail and ran from rape charges in Sweden if he would of faced it he most likely would done been out of prison by now . But he decided to be a fugitive and is already in a fancy prison for as long as he stays there,. If he hadn't done nothing he may never even would had to go to prison, when you run it makes you look guilty. It's too late now he done ruin his life because Ecuador's plain backfired on him. Different president in Ecuador now, who dont even allow him freedom of speech anymore if he says anything much they will kick him out. Some people in congress USA hopes he gets alyssum somewhere even because he exposes lies that the main stream media post ..They at war with him and want to see something bad happen to him. The Sente wanted him to testify was all, hes not charged with nothing yet .. The reason the UK will arrest him if he leaves is he skipped bail. the most they could give him over that is 1 year. Julian Assange was paranoid back in 2010 that he would be extradited from Sweden to the United States because of his perceived role in publishing secret American documents. Its now 2018 and hes still never been indicted on anything, i dont think they have a real case against him because CNN reported back in Apr 20, 2017. They was going to file charges against him and here it is Sep. 22 , 2018 and they still never done anything.. it's a bunch of Hype and 99% of what they say in the main stream media never happens when they post about him . They done sent out indictments over that and his name was not in them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange It's like when Reality Winner leaked NSA documents to The Intercept they didn't put The Intercept in jail they put her in jail ...Because it's freedom of the press ... Julian Assange is just a Journalist. National Intelligence said January 7, 2017 they most likely chose WikiLeaks because of its self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity. Disclosures through WikiLeaks did not contain any evident forgeries." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowledge-Spammer Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 steven36 u mean someone is saying lies about russia i can't believe this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven36 Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 14 minutes ago, knowledge said: steven36 u mean someone is saying lies about russia i can't believe this Yes Luke Harding is, Ars Technica , Sputnik news and Wiki Leaks all say its fake. Ars Technica is a PRO-SCIENCE site there not left winged or right winged they have no reason to lie . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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