Ecuador cuts off Assange’s internet access over fears of interference in US elections

Image Credit: WikiLeaks.org

  20 Oct 2016 , 15:48

Ecuador says it has temporarily cut off internet access to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over fears he was using it to interfere in the US presidential election. The move comes in the wake of the publication of leaked emails by WikiLeaks, including emails from the account of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign adviser John Podesta.

The Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said WikiLeaks’ documents could interfere in the electoral process. It said Ecuador “respects the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states” and had cut off the internet access available to Assange because “in recent weeks WikiLeaks has published a wealth of documents, impacting on the US election campaign.

“In that respect, Ecuador, exercising its sovereign right, has temporarily restricted access to part of its communications systems in its UK Embassy,” the statement said. Ecuador clarified the move was not a result of pressure from Washington. The US denied WikiLeaks’ accusations on Sunday that it had asked Ecuador to stop the site publishing documents about Hillary Clinton.

The Ecuador statement also reaffirmed the asylum granted to Assange and reiterated its intention “to safeguard his life and physical integrity until he reaches a safe place”. Assange’s internet access was cut off on Monday morning. Assange has sought asylum at London’s Ecuadorean embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex assault allegation.

According to the latest leaked emails, Clinton told a Goldman Sachs conference she would like to intervene secretly in Syria. She made the remark in answer to a question from Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s chief executive, in 2013 — months after she left office as the Secretary of State. “My view was you intervene as covertly as is possible for Americans to intervene,” she told employees of the bank in South Carolina, which had paid her about $225,000 to give a speech.

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Julian Assange promises to release new material every week on Wikileaks, for next 10 weeks

Image Credit: Reuters

  05 Oct 2016 , 12:45

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announced at a press conference on Tuesday that his platform will release new material in the coming months.

It is planned to publish new material every week in the next ten weeks, Xinhua news agency quoted Assange as saying in a live video broadcast to Berlin on the 10th birthday of WikiLeaks.

The new releases will cover the themes such as oil, weapons and corporations like Google, according to Assange.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks also wants to publish new details for the US election, but left the exact date open. However, WikiLeaks is working on publishing the material before the election date on 8 November, said Assange.

The upcoming publications were “of significant importance for the elections”, the 45-year-old Australian said in response to a question whether the new information “will destroy the Democratic presidential candidate”.

With a view to the 10th anniversary of the founding of WikiLeaks, Assange emphasised that despite all the hostility of “powerful opponents”, the website is still well positioned.

“We have a strong position, we are debt-free and completely independent,” he said.

“The attacks only make us stronger,” Assange said, “We believe in what we do, and when we are put under pressure, we will fight back.”

WikiLeaks has published hundreds of thousands of secret documents over the past few years, including the US military’s actions in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Australian, who has taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012, claimed that Sweden intends to hand him over to the United States, where he may face espionage charges for leaking thousands of secret US diplomatic cables and, if convicted, could be given a death penalty.

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