Was the WikiLeaks founder rude, messy and dirty? An ex-embassy employee defends Julian Assange.
One might think that the behavior of Julian Assange in his sanctuary at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London has nothing to do with the criminal charges. But it is an attempt to influence public opinion. The WikiLeaks founder has behaved according to a former diplomat during his exile not – as repeatedly claimed – wrong. It’s just not true that Assange was not clean, had not taken care of his cat or even had excrements on the walls, said the ex-consul on Saturday.
The relationship between Assange and the embassy staff has been respectful, the former consul at the embassy, ​​Fidel Narvaez, told British news channel Sky News. The native Australian did not live in filth. Narvaez: “Has he put the dishes in the dishwasher? Probably not on the weekends. Is this a crime?” Recently, the stay in the embassy had been “hell” for Assange, who was banned from getting internet and visitors. “The strategy was clear: to break it.”
Narvaez had worked there between 2010 and 2018. Assange escaped to the embassy in 2012. Ecuador recently deprived him of diplomatic protection, whereupon he was arrested by the British police. He is threatened with extradition to the USA.
Of Assange’s supposedly strange behavior had reported about the Spanish newspaper “El Pais”, citing earlier protectors of the WikiLeaks founder. Accordingly, he gave interviews in underpants. He did not wash the toilet after use.
The US accuses Assange of conspiring with whistleblower Chelsea Manning to crack a password on a government computer network and demand his extradition. At first, a court in London had found him guilty of breaching bail terms, threatening him with up to twelve months in prison. The court will deal with allegations of US justice on May 2.
Leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa granted Assange a humanitarian embassy in 2012 for humanitarian reasons. Correa’s successor Lenin Moreno wanted to end this state.
When Assange fled to the diplomatic mission, he was the subject of a European arrest warrant for rape allegations in Sweden. He was afraid of being sent there first and eventually to the United States. However, in May, the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office closed its investigation.
