Threatened by the United States, the creator of WikiLeaks is confined for two years in a room at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. He received Eva Joly, who is working to break the deadlock.
Friday, March 28, at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. Behind him a green background in front of which he filmed for communicating on Skype and social networks.© Thierry Esch
Friday, March 28, at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. Behind him a green background in front of which he filmed for communicating on Skype and social networks.BY FRANCIS LABROUILLÈRE April 16, 2014 | Updated April 18, 2014 ParisMatch.com
Translated by Google Translate (sometimes a bit awkward)
The 15 square meters where he lives as a recluse since June 2012 have been invaded by computers and electronic equipment. At 3 Hans Crescent, London, in the tiny office at his disposal by the Embassy of Ecuador, corner fireplace is blocked by a table where a Mac and enthroned three screens for video editing. Nearby are placed Sony high definition professional camera Canon 5D camera. On the other side of the room, hung against the wall, a green background is for special effects. It is bordered by a battery of projectors giving the appearance of a local studio. Everywhere books, folders and storage boxes. Assisted by a young colleague of his company Sunshine Press Productions, it is in this “cool” decor that Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, welcomes guests such as the former judge Eva Joly.
Smiling, with a short beard fashionable T-shirt and black jeans, the internet activist does not seem too effected by the experience of these six hundred and fifty days where he has remained cloistered, unable to leave. But his figure has thinned, his face widened, his complexion and her hair look even paler than before. With a severe air, he speaks in a slow voice, staring at his interlocutor. His family is worried about his deteriorating health.
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BRITISH TAXPAYERS DO NOT DIGEST THIS MONITORING THAT COSTS THEM € 5 MILLION
In this virtual prison, under the protection of Ecuador, a small country in Latin America that offers him political asylum, Assange claims not find the time to get bored. “Imagine you, like me, the target of the superpowers of the world and responsible for making an international organization such as WikiLeaks turn … It does not leave you much free time, he quips. I have no other way than work. To resist the attacks of which I am the object, it must be very concentrated, exercise self-discipline. In my small space, I am very organized. “
Eva Joly third visit to the Embassy of Ecuador. She knew Assange in 2010, Iceland, before the publication of confidential documents.© Thierry Esch
With its computer equipment, the programmer can stay in touch with its many faithful via Skype, social networks or his WikiLeaks WebTV Channel. “I remain primarily a journalist and editor fighting for freedom of expression,” he proclaims. Despite his imprisonment, despite the blocking of accounts by Visa, MasterCard, PayPal or Bank of America companies, his pride is to have managed to keep WikiLeaks afloat. “Since we released the confidential U.S. diplomatic dispatches in 2010, WikiLeaks is the target of the Pentagon and the White House, he said. Around the world, newspapers or publishers who have published these revelations were attacked. Some went bankrupt. But the actions of the CIA, the FBI or the U.S. State Department were not enough to kill us. WikiLeaks survives. The organization is even in good financial health.”
IN THE UNITED STATES, MAY FACE 35 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT
With an obsession bordering on paranoia, another concern is the safety of Assange. When he welcomes us into his office, cell, he asked us not to take pictures of furniture or its computer, so you do not deliver clues that could be used by its enemies. Then he led us to the window overlooking dependencies Harrods. “Look, there in the grand circular staircase glass … A policeman on duty day and night to watch me. “On the work table Assange, next to the keyboard of his computer, opened one of his favorite books,” 1984 “, the novel by George Orwell described so presciently in 1949, the dangers of totalitarian society where citizens are under surveillance. On the neighboring shelf prominently “The Whitehall Mandarin,” a novel by British Intelligence Edward Wilson revealing the secret methods of U.S. services to preserve the dominance of the United States on the world…
If any fictional character, Julian Assange is probably right to be wary. Since the summer of 2010, just after the first WikiLeaks revelations on the U.S. military in Afghanistan, he is facing an arrest warrant from the Swedish justice who wants to examine charges of “rape” and “sexual assault” launched by two young women. Assange has always denied the allegations, recognizing only “consensual relationship.” He speaks of “conspiracy” of the U.S. administration, in response to the disclosure of 250,000 diplomatic cables provided by WikiLeaks soldier Bradley Manning. For him, this maneuver by Swedish authorities has only one goal: obtain his arrest in the United States where, like Manning, who was sentenced last summer, it may thirty-five years imprisonment.
For now, even if the rape allegations are not substantiated and no charges have been brought against him, Julian Assange has been placed under an order of the British justice is desperate to extradite him to Sweden. Since he took refuge in the small apartment that serves Embassy in Ecuador, there are nearly two years, an impressive police force was set up to prevent escape.Assange notes that it has already cost more than 5 million to the British taxpayer, and that number begins to controversy. “It’s always the same, he observes. Citizens are more concerned about their money and the defense of human rights. “
IN STOCKHOLM, EVA JOLY CHALLENGES THE AUTHORITIES
In order to try to break the deadlock, Eva Joly visited him for the third time on March 28th. She had him recount his speech yesterday in Stockholm to the Swedish authorities. The former anti-corruption judge knew Assange in Iceland in 2010, just before he brought into the sights of the Swedish justice. “I was leading when the investigation into the causes of the Icelandic financial crisis, she remembers, and I was very impressed by the work of WikiLeaks. We wondered how the big bankers were able to lead the country to ruin and no one has seen anything. Julian Assange then arrived with the idea to make Iceland a place where journalists could not be pursued, a kind of paradise information. This concept has had a huge impact and led to the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative project, to which I belong and which is still ongoing. “
Early 2013, when she learned Assange was stuck at the Ecuadorian Embassy, Eva Joly came to see him. She returned a year later. As nothing had moved, she decided to go to Stockholm to directly challenge the Scandinavian judges. “I suggested solutions for Assange to be questioned at a distance in the case of rape of which he is accused, she said. Swedish judges could very well move to London in the same way that I was in Israel made me question a suspect case of the Elf who had fled France. They can also hear Julian Assange on videoconference, with the participation of his lawyers, as is already the case in France. Finally, it is possible for them to enter the Ecuadorian embassy she occupies herself for this hearing. “So far, Eva Joly, who has not met the magistrates of the case, has received little response to her proposals. But the former judge did not demobilize. She will continue at European level its action in favor of Assange, alleging infringement of the presumption of innocence and the violation of the right of every citizen to be tried within a reasonable time.
Before leaving, Eva Joly and Julian Assange have a long hug. Visibly moved, the head of WikiLeaks thanks the French for being part of those who most supported. “You are a strong people, he says. I would like to live one day in France. “After four years of playing cat and mouse with the law, including twenty-two months buried alive in the Ecuadorian embassy he is asked, WikiLeaks is not it too heavy to bear? “I pay a high price, recognizes Assange. But the challenge is worth it. “
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