Ecuadorian court revokes citizenship for Julian Assange
PTI, Jul 28, 2021, 11:28 AM IST
Quito: Ecuador has revoked the citizenship of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks who is currently in a British prison.
Ecuador’s justice system formally notified the Australian of the nullity of his naturalization in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country’s Foreign Ministry.
Naturalization is considered damaging when it is granted based on the concealment of relevant facts, false documents or fraud.
Ecuadorian authorities say Assange’s naturalization letter had multiple inconsistencies, different signatures, the possible alteration of documents and unpaid fees, among other issues.
Carlos Poveda, Assange’s lawyer, told The Associated Press the decision was made without due process and Assange was not allowed to appear in the case.
”On the date (Assange) was cited he was deprived of his liberty and with a health crisis inside the deprivation of liberty centre where he was being held,” Poveda said.
Poveda said he will file appeals asking for an amplification and clarification of the decision.
“More than the importance of nationality, it is a matter of respecting rights and following due process in withdrawing nationality,” he said.
Assange received Ecuadorian citizenship in January 2018 as part of a failed attempt by the government of then-President Lenín Moreno to turn him into a diplomat to get him out of its embassy in London.
On Monday, the Pichincha Court for Contentious Administrative Matters revoked this decision.
Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry told AP the court had “acted independently and followed due process in a case that took place during the previous government and that was raised by the same previous government.”
Assange, 50, has been in London’ high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was arrested in April 2019 for skipping bail seven years earlier during a separate legal battle.
Assange spent seven years holed up inside Ecuador’s London embassy, where he fled in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.
US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
US prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published.
Lawyers for Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment freedom of speech protections for publishing documents that exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Earlier this month, Britain’s High Court granted the US government permission to appeal a decision that the WikiLeaks founder cannot be sent to the United States to face espionage charges.
In January, a lower court judge had refused an American request to send Assange to the US.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Internal divisions leave open question whether Gandhi’s vision will ever be fully realised in India: Bill Clinton
COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal
Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report
Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India
COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Geethartha Chinthane 105: Shoka and Dukha are not same
Boy chokes to death after eating more than three pooris together
Internal divisions leave open question whether Gandhi’s vision will ever be fully realised in India: Bill Clinton
PWD, Google Maps officials booked in Bareilly bridge death case
WhatsApp, Gmail banned from use for transmission of official documents in Jammu and Kashmir
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.