In 2012, the attention of the world was focused on the personality of the journalist Julian Assange, the founder of the world-famous organization WikiLeaks. This project has repeatedly published classified materials about corruption in the highest echelons of power, war crimes, espionage scandals and the secrets of diplomacy. The activities of WikiLeaks have become one of the reasons for the criminal prosecution of Assange.
At the end of June 2012, Julian Assange sought political asylum from the Ecuadorian authorities. The request of an Australian online journalist is being considered by the Ministry of the Interior of that country. Until the issue is finally resolved, Assange is hiding from the British authorities on the territory of the Embassy of Ecuador, located in London.
In May 2012, the London Supreme Court decided to extradite Assange to Sweden, where he is suspected of a number of sexual crimes. The journalist himself rejects the charges against him and believes that the process launched against him is political in color. The pursuit of Assange began after WikiLeaks published secret diplomatic correspondence. In the fall of 2010, many confidential documents from the US Department of State were published, including diplomatic correspondence that was not subject to disclosure.
The British police issued an order to Julian Assange to report to the police station to complete the procedure for his deportation to Sweden. The journalist ignored the agenda, guided by the advice of his lawyers. The law allows him to refuse to appear before the police until the Ecuadorian authorities consider his application for political asylum. Under international law, consideration of the issue of political asylum takes precedence over the demand for extradition.
Assange believes that if he is handed over to the Swedish authorities, he will immediately be extradited to the United States, where he will face persecution for publishing top-secret materials. The actions of the infamous journalist and his organization can be qualified as espionage, for which Assange is facing the death penalty in America.
The action of the founder of WikiLeaks, who decided to seek political asylum in Ecuador, came as a surprise even to his supporters. Assange himself said that he chose this method of dealing with the arbitrariness of the judiciary, since he sees no other way to avoid extradition to Sweden. The Embassy of Ecuador has confirmed the fact of applying for asylum and stated that until the completion of the consideration by the government of this country, Assange will be on the territory of the embassy.
