02:48USA: Enforcing UN's Assange decision 'a political process' - senior UN official
A vice chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Roland Adjovi, stated from New York, Friday, that the group's decision that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being held abitrarily, is not a judgement but an "opinion."
"It is a political process for the state to cooperate and accept the recommendation and enforce them," he stated.
Adjovi stated that the detention is arbitrary "because it started with an abusive detention which was an isolation and then his fair trial might have been affected during the process until now." The vice chair of the UN working group went on to say that the group "recommends that the two states concerned, that is the United Kingdom and Sweden, bring this detention, this arbitrary detention to an end." He added, "the working group also recommends that these two sates find an appropriate compensation for the victim."
For the past three years the WikiLeaks head has lived in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he took refuge in order to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual offence charges. Ecuador has granted asylum to Assange, but the UK has declined to grant him permission to leave its territory.
02:48A vice chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Roland Adjovi, stated from New York, Friday, that the group's decision that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being held abitrarily, is not a judgement but an "opinion."
"It is a political process for the state to cooperate and accept the recommendation and enforce them," he stated.
Adjovi stated that the detention is arbitrary "because it started with an abusive detention which was an isolation and then his fair trial might have been affected during the process until now." The vice chair of the UN working group went on to say that the group "recommends that the two states concerned, that is the United Kingdom and Sweden, bring this detention, this arbitrary detention to an end." He added, "the working group also recommends that these two sates find an appropriate compensation for the victim."
For the past three years the WikiLeaks head has lived in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he took refuge in order to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual offence charges. Ecuador has granted asylum to Assange, but the UK has declined to grant him permission to leave its territory.