Ecuador court refuses to extradite Belarussian dissident

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/29/ecuador-extradition-aliaksandr-barankov-belarus


Former police officer Aliaksandr Barankov says his life would be in danger in Belarus after he uncovered high-level government corruption. Photograph: AP

A judge from Ecuador's highest court has rejected an extradition request for a former police investigator from Belarus who has been jailed since June, and ordered that he be freed immediately.

Aliaksandr Barankov's case attracted attention after Ecuador granted political asylum to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, earlier this month.

Judge Carlos Ramirez of the national court of justice found the political refugee status granted to Barankov to be justified, according to a court official.

Barankov, 30, had argued he could be killed if sent back to his former Soviet bloc homeland, where President Alexander Lukashenko has been nicknamed "Europe's last dictator".

[tama]

1. DU rec n/t

[Bonobo]

2. K&R nt

[xchrom]

3. Kick

[marmar]

4. Oh, xchrom. Don't spoil the narrative that Ecuador only shields monsters and heathens.

nt

[xchrom]

5. I FORGOT!11 my bad. nt

[joeybee12]

6. KNR