Published: 07
December, 2012, 02:36
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| Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (R) shakes hands with French politician Jean Luc Melenchon inside the Ecuadorian embassy in central London, on December 6, 2012.(AFP Photo / Leon Neal) |
Wikileaks founder Julian
Assange (R) shakes hands with French politician Jean Luc Melenchon inside the
Ecuadorian embassy in central London, on December 6, 2012.(AFP Photo / Leon
Neal)
Former French
presidential candidate Jean Melenchon has met with Julian Assange at London's
Ecuadorian Embassy to show his solidarity with, he says, the “prisoner” of a
government that lets dictators walk free but is not brave enough to free
Assange.
The politician also
called on Sweden to not extradite Assange to the United States, while praising
the Ecuadorian government or having a “very brave attitude… unlike many
other countries” who offered to help the whistleblower, quotes the
French Liberation.
Following a meeting
between the two, Melanchon told reporters, “We say to the British Government:
you freed the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, you let him go in 2000,
you may well let Julian Assange [go],” the Paris Depeches reports.
Assange, who was not
present following the meeting, was described by the French politician, as an “intellectually
combative” individual who feels sympathy for the incarcerated Bradley
Manning, the former US serviceman accused of delivering classified data to
Assange.
"The situation is
that Mr. Assange is a prisoner," the Left Front leader added.
As far as Melanchon's
reasons for visiting the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he, alongside Ambassador
Ana Alban, said, “I am a friend of the Citizens' Revolution in Ecuador,
and so I feel a duty to come in contact with my friends, express gratitude and
solidarity."
It was the first
face-to-face meeting between Melanchon and Assange. The two had previously
spoken on the phone in August.
In turn, the Ecuadorian
ambassador told the reporters that Assange is slowly assimilating. "You
can imagine how difficult it can be to have fresh air and to have sun and
space. In the beginning it was quite difficult, but now it's fine" Alban
said in a press briefing.
Last week, it was
reported that Assange had developed a chronic lung condition “which
could get worse at any moment." The whistleblower requires
constant medical attention at his refuge in the embassy, Ambassador Alban told
reporters in Quito last week.
In November, Assange's
lawyer warned that the forty-one-year-old Australian's health could deteriorate
if he remains confined much longer.
Assange has been inside
the Ecuadorian Embassy since June 19th, when Ecuador granted him political
asylum.
If he leaves the
building, the whistleblower faces immediate arrest and extradition to Sweden,
where he is wanted for questioning on charges of sex crimes.
Many see the Swedish
extradition as a ruse that would allow his extradition to the United States,
where he could face execution for his activities with WikiLeaks.
Ecuador has petitioned
the British government for permission to allow Assange from the London embassy
to Ecuador. They also asked for a guarantee of his safety if he is to be
admitted to a UK hospital.
London refused to
negotiate, stating that it is legally obligated to hand him over to Sweden if
he leaves the premisses of the Ecuadorian Embassy.
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| Photo from twitter.com user @jpo11ard |
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