<nettime> Julian Assange arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the UK, UN expert panel finds

[Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.com>]

   [Usually, countries like Myanmar or Egypt are subjects to these kinds
   of rulings. Just another example how Western countries are actively
   destroying the very cultural and institutional foundations on which
   their hegemony has been based. I'm not sure this is a good thing.
   Felix]

   Julian Assange arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the UK, UN expert
   panel finds

   GENEVA (5 February 2016) â WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been
   arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the United Kingdom since his arrest
   in London on 7 December 2010, as a result of the legal action against
   him by both Governments, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
   Detention said today.

   In a public statement, the expert panel called on the Swedish and
   British authorities to end Mr. Assangeâs deprivation of liberty,
   respect his physical integrity and freedom of movement, and afford him
   the right to compensation (Check the
   statement:Â Â [1]http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.a
   spx?NewsID=17012&LangID=E)

   Mr. Assange, detained first in prison then under house arrest, took
   refuge in Ecuadorâs London embassy in 2012 after losing his appeal to
   the UKâs Supreme Court against extradition to Sweden, where a judicial
   investigation was initiated against him in connection with allegations
   of sexual misconduct. However, he was not formally charged.

   âThe Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers that the various
   forms of deprivation of liberty to which Julian Assange has been
   subjected constitute a form of arbitrary detention,â said Seong-Phil
   Hong, who currently heads the expert panel.

   âThe Working Group maintains that the arbitrary detention of Mr.
   Assange should be brought to an end, that his physical integrity and
   freedom of movement be respected, and that he should be entitled to an
   enforceable right to compensation,â Mr. Hong added. Â

   In its official Opinion, the Working Group considered that Mr. Assange
   had been subjected to different forms of deprivation of liberty:
   initial detention in Wandsworth Prison in London, followed by house
   arrest and then confinement at the Ecuadorean Embassy.

   The experts also found that the detention was arbitrary because Mr.
   Assange was held in isolation at Wandsworth Prison, and because a lack
   of diligence by the Swedish Prosecutorâs Office in its investigations
   resulted in his lengthy loss of liberty.

   The Working Group established that this detention violates Articles 9
   and 10 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and Articles 7,
   9(1), 9(3), 9(4), 10 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and
   Political Rights.

   Check the Working Groupâs Opinion on Julian Assangeâs case (No.
   54/2015), adopted in
   December:[2]http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/A.HRC.WGAD.
   2015.docx

   NOTE TO EDITORS:

   The Opinions of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention are
   legally-binding to the extent that they are based on binding
   international human rights law, such as the International Covenant on
   Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The WGAD has a mandate to
   investigate allegations of individuals being deprived of their liberty
   in an arbitrary way or inconsistently with international human rights
   standards, and to recommend remedies such as release from detention and
   compensation, when appropriate.

   The binding nature of its opinions derives from the collaboration by
   States in the procedure, the adversarial nature of is findings and also
   by the authority given to the WGAD by the UN Human Rights Council. The
   Opinions of the WGAD are also considered as authoritative by prominent
   international and regional judicial institutions, including the
   European Court of Human Rights.

References

   1. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17012&LangID=E
   2. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/A.HRC.WGAD.2015.docx

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