UN panel calls on UK and Sweden to end 'arbitrary detention' and compensate WikiLeaks founder

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Mr Assange said he expects the 'immediate return' of his passport
Lizzie Dearden

... The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said called on Swedish and British authorities to immediately end the WikiLeaks founder's “deprivation of liberty'' and compensate him.

Its findings were leaked by sources on Thursday but the official ruling was not released until Friday morning ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/julian-assange-un-panel-calls-on-uk-and-sweden-to-end-arbitrary-detention-and-compensate-wikileaks-a6854826.html

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1. Assange feels vindicated by U.N. panel ruling he's being 'arbitrarily detained'

By Greg Botelho, CNN
Updated 12:46 PM ET, Fri February 5, 2016

... Britain's top diplomat indicated Friday that nothing has changed for the Australian national. "Assange is a fugitive from justice, voluntarily hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy" ...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/europe/julian-assange-ruling/

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2. Julian Assange requests Australian passport, consular assistance after UN ruling video

NICK MILLER
Last updated 06:41, February 6 2016

... English lawyer and writer David Allen Green called the UN opinion "barmy" and "the daftest human rights opinion you will ever read".

"If someone can leave a property as they wish, and once outside has to comply only with the law of the land, it is not 'arbitrary detention'" ...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/76644139/julian-assange-requests-australian-passport-consular-assistance-after-un-ruling

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3. Three members of U.N. panel said Assange was ‘arbitrarily detained.’

By Adam Taylor February 5 at 11:19 AM

... The decision from the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is not legally binding ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/05/three-members-of-u-n-panel-said-assange-was-arbitrarily-detained-one-didnt-heres-his-dissent/

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4. Assange hails 'victory'

Updated: Feb 5, 2016 - 9:06 AM

... The lawyer for the Swedish woman who Julian Assange is accused of raping says the U.N. panel apparently has "a lack of understanding" that rape "is one of the most serious abuses and violations of human rights."

Elisabeth Massi Fritz says she is "relieved" that the panel's ruling that Assange has been arbitrarily detained "is not legally binding."

In a statement to the AP she said it is "insulting and offensive" toward her client and the rights of all crime victims to suggest that a man who is suspected of rape should be compensated for intentionally withholding himself from the judicial system for more than five years ...

http://www.kiro7.com/news/world/the-latest-sweden-says-un-statement-has-no-legal-effect/63404253

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5. The significance of the case

... The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention panel has no legal authority in the case, as British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office pointed out yesterday. Its ruling has no legal impact on Swedish and British authorities.

But the ruling provides a welcome public relations boost for Assange and WikiLeaks and may bring pressure to bear on Swedish and British authorities.

If the Swedes decide not to seek Assange for questioning, the warrant for his arrest could be dropped. British police, however, could still arrest him for jumping bail, unless that charge was also dropped ...

http://buenosairesherald.com/article/208171/the-significance-of-the-case

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6. Julian Assange accuses UK minister of insulting UN after detention finding

... Assange appeared on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy clutching a copy of the UN report ...

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart in London, Hammond forcefully rejected the findings of the UN panel. “This is frankly a ridiculous finding by the working group and we reject it.” He pointed out that the panel was made up of lay people, not lawyers.

The British government added in a statement: “This changes nothing. We completely reject any claim that Julian Assange is a victim of arbitrary detention. The UK has already made clear to the UN that we will formally contest the working group’s opinion.”

It said Assange was “voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest” by remaining in the Ecuadorian embassy ...

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/05/julian-assange-accuses-philip-hammond-insulting-united-nations

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7. WikiLeaks founder: U.N. panel’s backing over detention ‘significant’ win

By Karla Adam
February 5 at 1:15 PM

... Swedish prosecutors ..have said that the ruling “has no formal impact on the ongoing investigation, according to Swedish law.”

“Mr. Assange is free to leave the embassy at any point. Thus, he is not being deprived of his liberty there due to any decision or action taken by the Swedish authorities,” the Foreign Ministry said in a letter to the panel ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/un-panel-wikileaks-founder-assange-detained-arbitrarily/2016/02/05/a1de48aa-cb89-11e5-b9ab-26591104bb19_story.html

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8. Assange: 'Today is a significant victory for us'

Published: 05 Feb 2016 09:36 GMT+01:00
Updated: 05 Feb 2016 16:21 GMT+01:00

... Britain maintains that it has an obligation to arrest Assange as long as a European warrant for his arrest remained in force.

Meanwhile, Sweden's foreign ministry has sent a letter to the UN panel formally disagreeing with its decision ...

http://www.thelocal.se/20160205/un-panel-demands-end-to-assange-detention