SCOTT Morrison has taken to the airways to respond to calls for action from former Baywatch bombshell Pamela Anderson.

The one-time Playboy Playmate appeared in an interview on 60 Minutes last night in which she opened up about her relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

After initial confusion about the identity of the Prime Minister, the Hollywood star urged Morrison to intervene to free Assange from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

Anderson addressed the PM: Defend your friend, and get Julian his passport back, and take him back to Australia and be proud of him. And throw him a parade when he gets home.

On Gold Coast radio 1029 Hot Tomato today, Morrison made light of the attention he was getting from the blonde beauty.

Ive had plenty of mates whove asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort the issue out with Pamela Anderson, ScoMo said with a laugh.

He continued (this time in serious mode): Putting that to one side our position on that hasnt changed.

The PM not surprisingly rejected a welcome home parade for Assange.

In a letter sent last week, Anderson also urged the PM to ban live animal exports an issue Morrison says his government is acting on.

She has raised some other important issues about live exports. We just had the Moss Review back. Its a bit of a hard policy topic but we are acting on that with an inspector general and an animal welfare branch sitting within the dept of ag. There are some pretty serious issues going on with live sheep and we are acting on them.

During last night's interview, the US-Canadian actress described her situation with Assange as a romantic struggle.

The star is regularly photographed entering and leaving the Ecuadorean Embassy where Assange is holed up.

Anderson, a longtime animal rights activist, said she arranged a meeting with Assange just over two years ago.

I wanted to meet him because I wanted to ask him how to be a more effective activist. Of course, I was fascinated with him, she said.

In the interview at her home in the south of France, Anderson said she was valuable to the Melbourne-born Assange because I think people think hes a computer screen and I humanise him.

She said she visited Assange for three to four hours at a time.

Im exhausted when I leave but Ive got a stack of notes, she laughed.

When asked directly by reporter Liam Bartlett what sort of relationship she had with Assange, Anderson replied: We like to call it a romantic struggle. It is to educate the world.

The enigmatic Anderson said the pairs relationship wasnt about holding hands.

We dont have a romantic relationship like that, but I feel very close to him. And I feel closer to him than a lot of people have and he trusts me.

Now living in Cassis in the south of France with her boyfriend, French World Cup soccer player Adil Rami, Anderson admits to having a famously chaotic romantic history, saying she seems to pick the same kind of men.

She married rocker Tommy Lee she famously wore a bikini to the ceremony in 1995 before a nasty split in 1998. The couple had two sons together, Brandon and Dylan.

In 2006, Anderson married Kid Rock, but they couple split shortly after.

The following year, Anderson married Rick Salomon but they called it quits months after. Six years later, Anderson and Salomon remarried in 2014 but divorced in 2015.

I mean, I love to be married, Anderson told 60 Minutes.

The marriage part is difficult, but I love the weddings I think, yeah, maybe once should have been enough for me.

The stunning star, who has graced the pages of Playboy numerous times, defended the controversial magazine as empowering but dismissed the Me Too movement.

Im a feminist, but I think that this third wave of feminism is a bore, she said.

I think it paralyses men. I think that this Me Too movement is a bit too much for me. Ill probably get killed for saying that.

Referring to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Anderson appeared to defend the disgraced mogul. She said mother had taught her dont go to a hotel with a stranger.

If someone answers a door in a bathrobe and its supposed to be a business meeting, maybe I should go with somebody else, Anderson told 60 Minutes.

I think that some things are just common sense. Or if you go in, get the job, she laughed. Im Canadian, Im going to speak my mind, okay?

Read the rest here:
Pamela Anderson: on her relationship with Julian Assange

If Julian Assange of WikiLeaks denies the Ecuadorian governments stinging charge that hes a disgusting houseguest, hed do well not to deny that charge categorically. As a category, crimes against hospitality are one of Assanges many fortes.

Assange, of course, has spent the better part of the decade hunkered down in the close quarters of Ecuadors embassy in London, avoiding extradition to the United States, where hes wanted on various criminal charges. However, incorrigible rogue that he is, Assange has managed even as an asylee to commit fresh offenses in defiance of a governmentthis time the Ecuadorian one, which has served as his extravagantly forbearing host since 2012.

It seems the foreign service, which originally granted Assange asylum on the grounds that he was a swashbuckling crusader for government transparency, had had enough of Assanges neglect of his cat and its litter box. The embassy is also fed up with his indifference to basic hygiene and bathroom cleanliness; his mooching of food and Wi-Fi; his woodwork-damaging indoor-skateboarding habit; and his general Kato Kaelinstyle freeloading. Assanges six-year tenancy at the embassy has cost the government $6 million. So far.

Virginia Heffernan (@page88) is an Ideas contributor at WIRED. She is the author of Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art, a cohost of Trumpcast, an op-ed columnist at the Los Angeles Times, and a frequent contributor to Politico.

In response, they issued a list of house rules last month. Assange found the rules oppressive, and sued the Ecuadorian government for violating his "fundamental rights and freedoms. His lawyers argued, of all things, that Assange is being treated inhumanely by his hosts in the embassy; that its a privilege to host a mind so great, daring and free; and that such a mind cannot be answerable to litter boxes.

Another bane to the embassy is Assanges relentless opining on Ecuador in ways that might jeopardize its foreign relations, and his audiences with visitors like activist and onetime Baywatch starlet Pamela Anderson, who, like Assange, has been closely linked to the Kremlin and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Anderson, who airily denies being romantically involved with either Assange or Putin, told Buzzfeed in July that she brings Assange vegan food and checks on his fitness. I was worried about his healthhis skin was transparent. She went on: Hes been in a small room for six years and now hes being squeezedhis internets been taken away, he cant have visitors, he cant have phone calls.

In September, Ecuadorian officials, along with the rest of us, learned that Russian diplomats had considered a scheme to spring Assange from the embassy to get him safely to Russia, where hed be among friends and safe from extradition. The plan was scotched, but the embassy cannot have been pleased that it was almost humiliated by the slob houseguest theyve spent years cleaning up after.

The embassy is fed up with his indifference to basic hygiene; hismooching of food and wifi; his woodwork-damaging indoor-skateboardinghabit

And as of this week, the distinct possibility has surfaced that during his embassy tenure Assange communicated with Roger Stone, Donald Trumps consigliere, via magic decoder rings or the internet. According to The New York Times, dirty trickster Stone billed himself to Trump as a conduit to dirty tricks outfit WikiLeaks, and theres evidence of illicit communication between Stone and the Russia-aligned WikiLeaks. Evidently special prosecutor Robert Mueller has been poking around into the relationship between Roger Stone and WikiLeaks, which of course released thousands of Russian-hacked Democratic Party emails that advantaged Trump in 2016.

Assange says he now fears extradition to the United States, where he believes he will be executed, possibly extrajudicially, possibly for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 by publishing US war logs and diplomatic cables in 2010. Or possibly for conspiring with the Kremlin and Roger Stone to hack American democracy. (Indeed, attorney general Jeff Sessions said last year that arresting Assange is a priority.)

What Assange doesnt seem to fear is insulting his hosts.

That is a fear he has never, ever entertained.

In 2011one year after Assange made his name releasing the classified logs and cablesa video by comedian Allison Silverman accused him of systematic crimes against hospitality (emphasis mine).

As proof, Silverman provided the supposedly true personal testimony of a couple who had once put him up, accompanied by a low-effort reenactment. Julian Assange: Houseguest is extremely funny, but its also an evidentiary exhibit. Silverman had friends connected to Assange who once, like the Ecuadorian embassy, had a terrible time when he came to stay with them. The video has a lot to teach.

First, unnamed friends of friends of Assangea white couple apparently in their twentiesare shown putting fresh sheets on a full-sized bed and placing a small vase of lilacs on a side table, for an impending guest. I was OK with it on the condition that he leave after two days, remembers a sighing young man in what seems to be documentary voice over. I had guests coming to town who needed the guest bedroom.

His lawyers argued that Assange is being treated inhumanely; thatits a privilege to host a mind so great, daring and free; and thatsuch a mind cannot be answerable to litter boxes.

The first visitor turns out to be, of course, Assange, played by a scruffy guy in a silver wig. Were told Assange was in the habit of couch-surfing during some unspecified years, and he would take up the whole couch. The narrator continues: I would kind of hint with my body language that maybe I wanted to sit down, but he never noticed things like that.

The WikiLeaks editor scarfed leftover spaghetti from the fridge without asking; brought home a female stranger and sat around with her wearing only a towel; brought rotten fruit into the house; and didnt respond to friendly questions about his work and sleep habits. Instead, he would produce a wall of words about his trouble with governments, adding that information wants, in his view, to be free.

Hes an ideas guy, says the narrator.

A female narrator then remembers that Assange used her laptop during the stay. Presumably to cover his tracks lest he be pursued by governments opposed to freedom, Assange clogged up the young womans hard drive with a string of random numbers. Were talking 20 gigabytes or something, she says. The narrator offers, in sum: He wasnt the kind of person who was very aware of other peoples needs.

Poignant, this videoand with an admirable pedigree. The videos producer Silverman was at one time executive producer and head writer of The Colbert Report and Portlandia. Colbert writers Michael Brumm and Peter Gwinn, and David Rees, who created Get Your War On, star in it. The artwork is credited to Alyson Shotz, who is among Americas greatest contemporary sculptors.

Ecuadorian lawmaker Paola Vintimilla posted a video to Twitter in which she says Assange has undermined our country more than once and now he has decided to bite the hand that feeds him and sue the Ecuadorian state.

Now this is adding up. Noble figures like Vintimilla are trying to build a case for why Assange should be thrown out of his favorite rent-free secure London crash pad. For the prosecution, it might be worth showing Assanges history of taxing the hospitality of hosting hands that feed him. For that, there isat leastthis YouTube video.

If only there were a way to hack, leak, stage, and securely send the video to Vintimilla and the rest of the Ecuadorian authorities. Oh lookshuffles URLs and hacks and leaks at youtube dot comits right here.

Link:
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Is a Terrible Houseguest | WIRED

New threats to the safety of Julian Assange, to be disclosed shortly by Consortium News, have prompted an emergency meeting of his supporters.

New Threats Reported

to Assange to Be Revealed

An alarming series of occurrences have unfolded this week that indicate serious, urgent threats to the physical well-being of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Those close to the publisher are swiftly moving to address the recent escalations.

The Unity4J movement is calling an emergency meeting for all movement participants, supporters and the public. This will commence on Saturday November 3rd, 2018 at 3pm EST (midday Pacific), via https://unity4j.com/stream

At the meeting, details of these new threats to Julians life will be presented, along with the unveiling of a new action plan to secure and protect his life, human rights, and freedom.

A special message from Julians mother, Christine Assange will also be broadcasted.

Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained in the UK for eight years, six of which he has spent as a political refugee in Ecuadors embassy in London. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has ruled Mr Assange should be immediately freed and compensated. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that the UK must facilitate safe passage for him.

#Unity4J is a global mass movement in solidarity with Julian Assange, created in response to Ecuadors gagging of the publisher. Unity4J has been endorsed by more than fifty high profile activists, journalists, celebrities, academics and former US intelligence officials including Chris Hedges, Jimmy Dore, Ray McGovern, Bill Binney and Daniel Ellsberg.

Movement hashtag: #Unity4J Official website: http://unity4j.com/

Official Twitter: @Unity4J

WikiLeaks Legal Defence Fund: https://justice4assange.com/ donate.html

WikiLeaks support website: https://iamwikileaks.org

Courage Foundation: https://couragefound.org/

Other credible accounts for Julian Assange updates: https:// twitter.com/suzi3d/lists/assange-updates

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Media inquiries and interview requests should be made to Suzie Dawson, via DM on Twitter: @Suzi3D, or by emailing info@unity4j.com

Background reading:

Courage Foundation: Assanges protection from US extradition in jeopardy https://www.iamwikileaks.org/2018/05/25/ assanges-protection-from-us-extradition-in-jeopardy/

Conspiracy emerges to push Julian Assange into British and US hands https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/16/assa-m16.html

The UKs Hidden Role in Assanges Detention https:// original.antiwar.com/cook/2018/02/12/uks-hidden-roleassanges-detention/

Treatment of Assange is unjust, says former Ecuador minister https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/16/julianassange-treatment-irresponsible-ecuador-foreign-minister- guillaume-long

Ecuadors Ex-President Rafael Correa Denounces Treatment of Julian Assange as Torture https://theintercept.com/ 2018/05/16/ecuadors-ex-president-rafael-correa-denouncestreatment-of-julian-assange-as-torture/

Opinion: Ecuadors Solitary Confinement Of Assange Is Torture https://disobedientmedia.com/2018/04/opinion-ecuadorssolitary-confinement-of-assange-is-torture/

Being Julian Assange: https://contraspin.co.nz/beingjulianassange/

Here is the original post:
New Threats to Julian Assange; Consortium News to Broadcast ...

Posted October 30, 2018 13:20:58

A judge has rejected WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request to loosen new living requirements, including paying for his internet and cleaning up after his cat, that he says are meant to push him into leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Judge Karina Martinez decided stricter rules recently imposed by the South American nation's embassy do not violate his asylum rights because authorities have the right to decide what is and is not allowed inside the building.

Ecuadorian officials praised the ruling in the latest row between the Australian hacker and the government that has provided him refuge for six years.

Relations between Mr Assange and Ecuador have grown increasingly prickly as the years have dragged on with no solution in sight.

Mr Assange's lawyer, Carlos Poveda, vowed to appeal against the decision.

"The Ecuadorian state has an international responsibility to protect Mr Assange," Mr Poveda said.

Mr Assange argued the new measures, which also include requiring him to pay for his own medical bills and laundry services, are designed to coerce him into ending his asylum.

The rules also make clear that if Mr Assange does not properly feed and take care of his cat, the animal could be sent to the pound.

Ecuador's government contended the requirements are aimed at peaceful cohabitation in tight quarters in the small embassy, where Mr Assange takes up more than a third of the space.

Officials have complained that his soccer playing and skateboarding have damaged the building.

"It's clear this protocol was issued with strict respect for international law," Jose Valencia, Ecuador's foreign minister, said after the ruling.

Mr Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 as he tried to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced rape allegations.

He remains wanted in the United Kingdom for jumping bail, and he also fears a possible extradition to the United States for leaking classified State Department documents.

AP

Topics:world-politics,law-crime-and-justice,internet-technology,hacking,united-kingdom,ecuador

Excerpt from:
Julian Assange loses court case over cat duties, internet ...

We first heard about this last week, but the story keeps developing new and interesting wrinkles. Back in August, we were teased by a number of articles coming out of European media indicating that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was within days of cutting a deal which would allow him to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London after many long years, possibly even coming to Washington to testify before Congress. Clearly, those plans have fallen through.

Ecuador had cut off Assanges internet access for a time, but this month they at least partially restored it. There were, however, conditions applied to this boon and Assange wasnt happy about them. Now hes decided that enough is enough and hes going to sue his hosts for infringing upon his freedoms. And hell feed his darned cat whenever he feels like it. (BBC)

Julian Assange is to launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, accusing it of violating his fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Wikileaks co-founder has lived in its UK embassy since 2012 after seeking asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape inquiry later dropped.

He was given a set of house rules by the London embassy this week, including taking better care of his cat.

Mr Assange faces arrest for allegedly breaching bail conditions if he leaves.

When that article was published it was only an intention but as of this weekend, its been confirmed. A Wikileaks attorney has flown to Ecuador to kick off the legal proceedings.

Some of the restrictions on Assanges communications would seem ominous indeed if he were some free citizen in a democratic country. Any journalists, diplomats or even Assanges own attorneys have to agree to disclose private or political details such as the serial numbers and codes of their phones and tablets. The embassy also reserves the right to share that information with other agencies and theyve even demanded the ability to seize his personal property without a warrant and hand it over to UK authorities.

Oh, and they want him to make sure that hes feeding his cat and providing it with proper litterbox facilities.

That may sound intolerable and in more normal circumstances it could easily be considered an outrage. Assange is saying that they are violating his fundamental rights and freedoms. Sadly, the Ecuadorians have an easy and simple answer to these complaints. If Mr. Assange wishes to speak to any of his visitors in private theres a lovely bench right across the street where he can do so at his leisure. And if he wants internet access, the wifi at the pub down the block regularly provides five bars of service.

Nobody is forcing Julian Assange to stay in the embassy a day longer than he wishes to. But as long as he does, hes on Ecuadorean property, not British soil, and his hosts make the rules. As to the status of the cat, they might want to take that up with the RSPCA.

All sarcasm aside, what is Assange thinking and doesnt he have any competent legal advisors to guide him? Ill grant you that he may be a bit loopy after spending this much time locked up in that building but he needs some sound legal advice. Hes going to sue the people who have been providing him asylum for all these years? They can cancel that deal at any time and dump him and his cat unceremoniously out on the sidewalk any time they like.

Of course, when considering the larger picture, that might be in both Ecuadors best interests and those of the United States as well.

Original post:
Julian Assange (and his cat) go to court - hotair.com

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the new rules are a veiled attempt to evict him from the embassy.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost a legal challenge to new house rules imposed on him by the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he's been holed up to avoid extradition to the US.

Ecuadorian Judge Karina Martinez dismissed Assange's request for an injunction against new government rules that prohibit him from commenting on affairs in a way that could harm Ecuador's foreign relations, set parameters on his visitation privileges and require him to clean up after his cat, Bloomberg reported Monday. Assange could be expelled from the embassy if he fails to comply with the new rules.

Assange has been holed up in a small room in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than six years, initially entering it to avoid extradition for a rape charge in Sweden. The country dropped that charge but he's still facing a UK charge of skipping bail.

The UK maintains that Assange's exile is self-imposed, and in February a judge upheld a warrant for his arrest. But Ecuadorian officials have apparently grown weary of Assange's presence in the embassy, saying in January that his situation is "not sustainable."

"There's a limit as to how low a country can stoop," Assange said from the embassy via teleconference at a hearing in Quito of the lawsuit. Assange accused Ecuador's government of imposing the new rules in a veiled attempt to pressure him to leave the embassy and end his asylum.

Assange is concerned that if he leaves the embassy, the US may also seek to extradite him on espionage charges. Last year, the US Justice Department was reportedly considering filing criminal charges against WikiLeaks and Assange in connection with the 2010 leak of diplomatic cables and military documents.

In June, an international group of lawyers appealed to the UN's Human Rights Council regarding concerns that Assange's protracted confinement is having a severe impact on his physical and mental health.

WikiLeaks didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Security: Stay up-to-date on the latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and all those cybersecurity issues that keep you up at night.

Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad services that will change your life.

Read more here:
Julian Assange loses legal bid to ease Ecuador Embassy's new ...

QUITO (Reuters) - - Ecuador does not plan to intervene with the British government on behalf of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in talks over his situation as an asylee in the South American countrys London embassy, Ecuadors foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Jos Valencia said in an interview with Reuters that Ecuadors only responsibility was looking after Assanges wellbeing, after the Australian national sued the country over new conditions placed on his asylum in the London embassy.

Ecuador has no responsibility to take any further steps, Valencia said. We are not Mr. Assanges lawyers, nor are we representatives of the British government. This is a matter to be resolved between Assange and Great Britain.

The UKs Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment after normal business hours.

Greg Barns, an Australian lawyer advising Assange, said in an email that developments in the case in recent times showed the need for Australias government to intervene to assist one of its citizens who faces real danger.

This position marks a departure from Ecuadors previous practice of maintaining dialogue with British authorities over Assanges situation since granting him asylum in 2012, when he took refuge in Ecuadors London Embassy after British courts ordered his extradition to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual molestation case.

That case has since been dropped, but friends and supporters have said that Assange now fears he could be arrested and eventually extradited to the United States if he leaves the embassy.

WikiLeaks, which published U.S. diplomatic and military secrets when Assange ran the operation, faces a U.S. grand jury investigation.

Valencia said he was frustrated by Assanges decision to file suit in an Ecuadorean court last week over new terms of his asylum, which required him to pay for medical bills and telephone calls and to clean up after his pet cat.

There is no obligation in international agreements for Ecuador to pay for things like Mr. Assanges laundry, he said.

Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno has said that asylum is not meant to be eternal, but he has expressed concern about the possibility that Assange may be extradited to the United States. Valencia said on Tuesday that he has not discussed Assanges situation with the United States government.

Last December, Ecuador granted Assange Ecuadorean citizenship and sought to name him as a member of the countrys diplomatic mission in Britain and Russia, which could have assured him safe passage to leave the embassy. Britain denied the request.

Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, Writing by Luc Cohen, Editing by Toni Reinhold and Michael Perry

See more here:
Exclusive: Ecuador no longer to intervene with UK for ...

WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange complained that his court-appointed translator was not good enough, prompting a judge overseeing his lawsuit against Ecuador to put a pause on proceedings to find a replacement fluent in Australian, news outlets reported Friday.

Judge Karina Martinez cut Thursdays hearing short in response to Mr. Assanges protest and ordered the appointment of a translator better equipped to interpret matters for the Australian-born fugitive, the Sydney Morning Herald first reported.

Mr. Assange filed the lawsuit through an attorney last week in response to the Ecuadorian government imposing new conditions on his asylum status, and Thursdays hearing in Quito, the nations capital, was the first to be held by the court considering his case.

Speaking remotely from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Mr. Assange complained about the quality of the translation service prior to the judge agreeing to suspend proceedings, The Herald reported.

The initial hearing last roughly 90 minutes prior to being suspended due to communication problems, Spanish media separately reported.

WikiLeaks did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Mr. Assange, 46, entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 and was subsequently granted asylum, effectively protecting him against the possibility of being prosecuted in the U.S. in relation to releasing classified government material through the WikiLeaks website.

His relationship with Ecuador has grown increasingly tense, however, and WikiLeaks lawyer Baltasar Garzon sued the nations foreign minister last week in response to new rules governing Mr. Assanges conduct inside the embassy, including restrictions on his internet and phone access.

The protocol makes Assanges political asylum contingent on censoring his freedom of opinion, speech and association, WikiLeaks said in a statement announcing the suit.

Responding in court Thursday, Ecuadors vice minister of foreign affairs, Andrs Tern, said the lawsuit was paradoxical, illogical and filed with an irresponsibility toward the democratic state that has welcomed him, according to Agencia EFE, a Spanish news agency covering the proceedings.

He is (there) of his own free will and () he has to abide by the rules imposed by the asylum country, it is as simple as that! said Mr. Tern, the outlet reported.

British authorities have said that Mr. Assange will be arrested upon exiting the embassy, at which point he would risk being extradited to the U.S. and tried in relation to releasing classified documents including U.S. diplomatic and military secrets.

Mr. Assange would possibly surrender to U.K. authorities if he is spared a trip abroad, another one of his lawyers said Friday.

In British justice, he could even be sentenced to three to six months imprisonment, said the lawyer, Carlos Poveda, AFP reported. But what is being requested from the legal team is that there is a necessary assurance that after that sentence he will not be extradited to the United States.

Read more from the original source:
Julian Assange's lawsuit against Ecuador halted over ...

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, is has been announced.

The Australian has been living inside the country's embassy in London for more than six years.

WikiLeaks lawyer Baltasar Garzon has arrived in Ecuador to launch the case, which is set to be heard in a domestic court next week.

WikiLeaks said Ecuador had threatened to remove the protection Mr Assange has had since being granted political asylum, and added that his access to the outside world had been "summarily cut off."

In July, Ecuador's president Lenn Moreno said the whistleblower must leave the embassy eventually.

Earlier this week, he was handed a set of house rules including better looking after his cat and cleaning his bathroom.

WikiLeaks said the government of Ecuador refused a visit by Human Rights Watch general counsel Dinah PoKempner, who has likened Ecuador's isolation to "solitary confinement", and had not allowed several meetings with his lawyers.

A statement said: "Ecuador's measures against Julian Assange have been widely condemned by the human rights community."

Mr Assange's lawyers said they were also challenging the legality of the Ecuador government's "special protocol", revealed earlier this week, which makes his political asylum contingent on "censoring" his freedom of opinion, speech and association.

The protocol also requires journalists, his lawyers and anyone else seeking to see Julian Assange to disclose private or political details, such as their social media usernames, the serial numbers and codes of their phones and tablets, with Ecuador - which the protocol says the government may "share with other agencies".

The protocol claims the Embassy may seize the property of Mr Assange or his visitors and, without a warrant, hand it over to UK authorities, said the statement.

Despite the rape allegation against Assange being dropped, he has refused to leave the embassy while a separate UK arrest warrant for breaching his bail conditions remains in effect.

He lost a bid to have the bail offence thrown out earlier this year by a judge who described Assange as feeling "he is above the law".

The WikiLeaks founder says he fears extradition to the United States for questioning over the activities of the website if he leaves the building in leafy Knightsbridge.

WikiLeaks caused an international storm in 2010 when it published a series of leaks from US soldier Chelsea Manning.

The leaks enraged Washington and included thousands of secret US diplomatic cables that were highly critical of world leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's royal family.

He was seen as a cyber-hero by some for exposing government abuses of power and championing free speech, but to others he was viewed as a criminal who undermined the security of the West by exposing secrets.

He has recently been accused of speaking to Russian hackers trying to block the election of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.

View post:
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to sue Ecuador for ...

Updated October 20, 2018 15:18:23

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has filed a lawsuit in Ecuador against new terms of asylum in the Andean country's London embassy that require him to pay for medical bills and phone calls and clean up after his pet cat, his lawyer says.

Ecuador this month created the new protocol governing the Australian's stay at the embassy.

Lawyer Baltasar Garzon told a press conference in Ecuador's capital Quito that the rules were drawn up without consulting Mr Assange, who is now suing Foreign Minister Jose Valencia in a Quito court to have them changed.

Mr Assange has not had access to the internet since it was cut off in March, Mr Garzon added, despite a WikiLeaks statement this week that it had been restored.

"He has been held in inhuman conditions for more than six years," Mr Garzon said.

"Even people who are imprisoned have phone calls paid for by the state," he added, describing the obligations regarding the cat as "denigrating."

Mr Garzon said Mr Valencia was named in the lawsuit because he served as the intermediary between Mr Assange and the Ecuadorean Government.

Mr Valencia said the Government would respond "in an appropriate manner". "The protocol is in line with international standards and Ecuadorean law," he told reporters.

Mr Assange's stay has become an increasing annoyance for Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, who has said Mr Assange cannot stay inside the embassy for ever, but has been reluctant to kick him out of the embassy because of concerns about his human rights.

Mr Assange believes he will be handed over to the United States to face prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents if he leaves.

In 2012, former Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa granted Mr Assange asylum as he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden for interrogation on alleged sexual assault crimes.

Sweden later dropped its investigation, but Britain says he will be arrested for violating the terms of his bail if he leaves the embassy.

In 2017 Ecuador gave Mr Assange citizenship and named him to a diplomatic post in Russia, but rescinded the latter after Britain refused to give him diplomatic immunity, according to an Ecuadorean Government document seen by Reuters.

Reuters

Topics:law-crime-and-justice,courts-and-trials,internet-technology,government-and-politics,world-politics,hacking,ecuador,united-kingdom

First posted October 20, 2018 10:35:01

Go here to read the rest:
Julian Assange sues over 'inhuman' conditions, 'denigrating ...