Ecuadorian authorities have stated that the UK has the ability to grant safe passage to Julian Assange (41), the founder of WikiLeaks, in accordance with an extradition treaty signed between the two nations in the 1800s.
In an interview about Julian Assange with South American broadcaster, Telesur, the Ecuadorian foreign minister said that the treaty, which was signed on 20th September, 1840, allows Ecuador to "demonstrate to the United Kingdom that it can deliver safe passage."
Patino added that the treaty "foresees that no one shall be extradited if the offense in question is not political in nature".
Patino stated that he’d brought the issue up with William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, at a meeting on Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Ecuadorian minister said that that William Hague "recognized the validity of this accord, even if his interpretation differs from ours".
After the meeting, both sides commented that they were yet to reach a resolution regarding Julian Assange, who has been staying at the Ecuadoran embassy in London since June so as to not be extradited to Sweden and questioned with regards to a case of sexual assault.
Later, he was awarded diplomatic asylum by Quito. The Australian political activist has said that the case against him is politically motivated and that the USA are behind it.
Julian Assange thinks that if he’s extradited to Sweden, he’ll soon be sent to the US to face prosecution.
The United States authorities were enraged by Julian Assange’s release of thousands of US war reports from the frontline of Iraq and Afghanistan along with a plethora of confidential diplomatic cables on his WikiLeaks website.
Below is an interview with Julian Assange by Uruguayan journalist, Jorge Gestoso, which was conducted inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. It was originally shown on GamaTV on 30th August 30, 2012.
In other news it’s been reported that Benedict Cumberbatch could be set to play Julian Assange in a future biopic about his life in a project set up by DreamWorks.
The rumour was started by Mike Fleming from Deadline.com, although he did state that the studio refused to confirm Cumberbatch's possible involvement.
The refusal may be related to "Bourne Legacy" star, Jeremy Renner’s reported involvement in the Julian Assange movie over the summer.
In an interview with Vulture, Renner said: "You're assuming that all that happens!" with regards to the WikiLeaks film, which is slated to be directed by Bill Condon.
He added: "It's a long road to happen with that, and the content is interesting, but other than that, I couldn't tell you the reality of it."
The role would be another boost for the career of Benedict Cumberbatch. The actor has already starred in the 2011 hits "War Horse" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and has been confirmed to play the villain in the next Star Trek movie.
Cumberbatch is also the voice of both Smaug and the Necromancer in the upcoming "Hobbit" trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.
On top of that he’s set to co-star with Brad Pitt in Steve McQueen's "Twelve Years A Slave" and to appear alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in "August: Osage County". Find out more about the extradition case here: Julian Assange
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