:: LNR Journalism ::

No exit: Ecuador grants asylum to Julian Assange. UK considers to lift diplomatic status

New York Times :: Ecuador said on Thursday that it had decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Seeking asylum, Mr. Assange has been holed up for two months in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where the police scuffled with and arrested some of his supporters on Thursday.

Trapped - A report by William Neuman | Maggy Ayala, www.nytimes.com

An embassy is no safe haven. [BBC] reports that U.K. considers to revoke Ecuador's status, a measure which Ecuador would regard as a "hostile and intolerable act" [The Globe and Mail].

BBC :: The UK Foreign Office says it can lift the embassy's diplomatic status to fulfil a "legal obligation" to extradite the 41-year-old.

A report by www.bbc.co.uk

The Globe and Mail :: The Ecuadorean government, which said it would announce whether it had granted Mr. Assange’s asylum request on Thursday at 7 a.m., has said any attempt by Britain to remove the diplomatic status of its embassy would be a “hostile and intolerable act”.

A report by Mohammed Abbas | Alessandra Prentice, www.theglobeandmail.com

Even if Ecuador grants asylum: No safe passage out of the country for Julian Assange

Reuters :: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has no way of leaving his refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London without being arrested, even if Quito grants him asylum shortly, lawyers say.

A report by Estelle Shirbon | Maria Golovnina, www.reuters.com

Pfc. Manning says he suffered unprecedented abuse

Courthouse News Service :: The suspected source of the biggest leak in U.S. history faced unparalleled pretrial abuse on orders from a three-star general, attorneys for Pfc. Bradley Manning said in a blistering motion to dismiss.

A report by Adam Klasfeld, www.courthousenews.com

The original post of his civilian lawyer: "PFC Manning's Unlawful Pretrial Punishment at Quantico" by David Coomb, armycourtmartialdefense.info

A summary of David Coomb's article:

Guardian :: The Article 13 motion, published Friday by Manning's civilian lawyer David Coombs on his website (link above), claims that Manning, who is accused of leaking state secrets to WikiLeaks, was held in a 6x8 ft cell for 23 to 24 hours a day. In addition, when not sleeping, Manning was banned from lying down, or even using a wall to support him.

A report by Matt Williams, www.guardian.co.uk

Ecuador and Julian Assange, seeking asylum. No decision yet

Confusing news. First The Guardian reported that Rafael Correa, Ecuador's president will grant Julian Assange asylum.

Guardian :: Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give the WikiLeaks founder asylum, according to an official in Quito

A report by Irene Caselli, www.guardian.co.uk

The New York Times fact-checked the news from The Guardian, but got to know, that Rafael Correa denied to have granted asylum already.

New York Times :: The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, denied on Tuesday a report on the Web site of The Guardian.

A report by William Neuman, www.nytimes.com

WikiLeaks response:

The ever misleading NYTimes: "President Denies Decision to Grant WikiLeaks Founder Asylum"" nytimes.com/2012/08/15/wor… wlfriends.org

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 15, 2012

But the organization didn't confirm either, instead they retweeted a post of Ricardo Patiño Aroca, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio e Integración del Ecuador, one hour later. In this tweet he only promises to present the results to Ecuador's president, who's still in the decision making process:

Ecuadorian FM: Tomorrow we present our review of #Assange's asylum request to the President twitter.com/RicardoPatinoE… wlfriends.org

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 15, 2012

Julian Assange is right to fear US prosecution

Guardian :: There are clear signs that the US is on track to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder, which, as his US lawyer, I advise him to heed, despite the denials of the Obama administration.

A report by Michael Ratner, www.guardian.co.uk

WikiLeaks claims responsibility for fake Bill Keller column, citing donation ban

Helpful? Meaningful? Succesful? The opinions are divided. 

Guardian :: WikiLeaks, the whistleblowing site set up by Julian Assange, has claimed that it was behind the fake opinion piece circulating on the internet under the name of Bill Keller, columnist and former executive editor of the New York Times.

Yes. We admit it. WikiLeaks (Assange & co) and our great supporters where behind the successful NYTimes banking blockade hoax on @nytkeller.

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 29, 2012

A report by Ed Pilkington, www.guardian.co.uk

Some comments:

RT @jayrosen_nyu: I say it's a nadir for Wikileaks: bit.ly/MfpgPk Their ship was launched on the sea of verification. They just s ...

— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) July 30, 2012

WikiLeaks grand jury: Some members of Congress want to prosecute New York Times journalists too

Electronic Frontier Foundation :: For more than a year now, EFF has encouraged mainstream press publications like the New York Times to aggressively defend WikiLeaks’ First Amendment right to publish classified information in the public interest and denounce the ongoing grand jury investigating WikiLeaks as a threat to press freedom.

Well, we are now seeing why that is so important: at a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on July 11, some members of Congress made it clear they also want New York Times journalists charged under the Espionage Act for their recent stories on President Obama’s ‘Kill List’ and secret US cyberattacks against Iran.

A report by Trevor Timm, www.eff.org

Mark Weisbrot: The rights groups that lost the plot on Ecuador and Julian Assange

Guardian :: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, remains trapped in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 19 June, as he awaits the government of Ecuador's decision on whether to grant him political asylum. It is interesting, if rather aggravating, to see how people who are supposed to be concerned with human rights and freedom of expression have reacted to this story.

[Mark Weisbrot:] Free speech advocates should defend WikiLeaks' founder from US spying charges, not invent a media crackdown in Ecuador.

An opinion piece by Mark Weisbrot, www.guardian.co.uk

WikiLeaks wins case against VISA

Russia Today :: The Reykjavík District Court has ruled that Valitor, formerly known as VISA Iceland, violated contract laws by blocking credit card donations to Wikileaks, according to a press release posted on the whistleblowers' Twitter account. The court also ordered that the donation gateway should be reopened within 14 days otherwise Valitor will be forced to pay a fine of $6,200 daily.

Translated version: via Google Translate.

Clipped from: www.dv.is (share this clip)

A report by Russia Today, www.rt.com

Source of some links: Wikileaks

Whistlblowers need our help: Let's move on from WikiLeaks bickering

Guardian :: Entrenched views about Assange mustn't prevent a debate about source protection, accountability and banking blockades. Doesn't that seem more important – and more fruitful – than another round of the soap opera?

"What we should discuss" - Continue to read James Ball, www.guardian.co.uk