U.N. torture expert urges Ecuador not to expel Assange from embassy

U.N. torture expert urges Ecuador not to expel Assange from embassy
# 05 April 2019 21:24 (UTC +04:00)

The United Nations torture investigator called on Ecuador on Friday not to expel Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from its London embassy, voicing concerns that he could be extradited to the United States and possibly face mistreatment, ONA reports citing Reuters.

President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador told radio stations on Tuesday that Assange has “repeatedly violated” the terms of his asylum in its embassy, where he has lived for nearly seven years. [nL1N21K0V1]

Moreno said that Assange does not have the right to “hack private accounts or phones” and cannot intervene in the politics of other countries, especially those that have friendly relations with the Andean nation.

Moreno made the comments after private photographs of him and his family at a time when they were living in Europe circulated on social media. Although Moreno stopped short of explicitly blaming Assange for the leak, the government said it believed the photos were shared by WikiLeaks.

If Assange were expelled, he is likely to be arrested by British authorities and extradited to the United States, Nils Melzer, U.N. special rapporteur on torture, said in a statement voicing concern that Assange’s health was in “serious decline”.

“Such a response could expose him to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” he said.

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