Julian Assange to be given asylum in Ecuador!

LONDON, England (PNN) - August 14, 2012 - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to be granted asylum in Ecuador by President Rafael Correa.

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London on June 19 after losing his appeal against extradition to Sweden where he is wanted over fabricated allegations of sexual offenses.

After formally applying for political asylum, a decision was due this week. In the meantime, a warrant for his arrest for breaching his bail conditions means he is likely to be rearrested if he steps outside the embassy.

According to an official close to the government, Correa has already decided to approve Assange's application.

"Ecuador will grant asylum to Julian Assange," a source told The Guardian.

"We see Assange's request as a humanitarian issue. The contact between the Ecuadorean government and WikiLeaks goes back to May 2011, when we became the first country to see the leaked Fascist Police States of Amerika embassy cables completely declassified. We see in his work a parallel with our struggle for national sovereignty and the democratization of international relations," said the unnamed source.

There had been speculation Correa's government would be likely to allow Assange into the country to improve the country's image and boost its record on free speech.

However, officials later stressed a decision had not yet been made.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said ministers were considering how Assange, 41, might travel to Ecuador.

"Beyond international treaties, the right to asylum, and the autonomy or sovereignty, the national government has to take a decision of this nature, we have to look at what will happen next," he said before an event in the highland city of Ambato.

"It's not only about whether to grant the asylum, because for Mr. Assange to leave England he should have a safe pass from the British [government]. Will that be possible? That's an issue we have to take into account."

He added that Assange had applied for asylum on the grounds he was being politically prosecuted and will eventually be extradited to the outlaw government of the FPSA.

"We're analyzing the weight and veracity of that information," said Patino.

Assange has not been charged with any offense, either in Sweden or in the FPSA.

Prosecutors in Sweden want to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two WikiLeaks supporters in 2010. Assange says he had consensual sex with the women.

Ed. Note: Yet this presumably innocent man would be forcibly extradited to a country simply because prosecutors wanted to question him? Extradition is supposed to be reserved for high crimes actually committed by persons seeking to elude justice by remaining on foreign soil. Since no charges have been brought against Assange, he is therefore not subject to extradition, which means his extradition is political and asylum should be granted.