Re: Sacoolas case: Will it help Assange?

2020-02-18 Thread jim bell



New Information:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-assange/extradition-hearing-for-wikileaks-assange-to-be-split-in-two-parts-idUSKBN1ZM1LN
Extradition hearing for WikiLeaks' Assange to be split in two parts



LONDON (Reuters) - The London hearing to decide whether WikiLeaks’ founder 
Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States to face charges including 
spying will be split in two, with the second half delayed until May, a judge 
ruled on Thursday.




On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, 12:28:15 AM PST, jim bell  
wrote: 


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7922781/America-REFUSES-hand-diplomats-wife-accused-killing-19-year-old-British-biker-Harry-Dun.html


[Partial quote follows:]

* Motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a head-on collision with a car 
in August
* Anne Sacoolas is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the 
road
* She was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but fled the 
country
* US Secretary of State Pompeo turned down extradition request for Mrs 
Sacoolas
By JOE MIDDLETON FOR MAILONLINE and SEBASTIAN MURPHY-BATES FOR MAILONLINE
   
Harry Dunn's furious family have slammed the 'indefensible' US decision to 
block the deportation of Anne Sacoolas in a 'dark day for the special 
relationship' and demanded a meeting with Boris Johnson.
America yesterday refused to hand over a diplomat's wife who is accused of 
killing a 19-year-old British biker in a crash near a US airbase.
Mr Dunn was killed in a head-on collision with a car on August 27 last year 
near RAF Croughton, in Northamptonshire.
Anne Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence official, is believed to have 
been driving on the wrong side of the road and was charged with causing death 
by dangerous driving. But she claimed diplomatic immunity and flew to the US.

[end of partial quote]

Jim Bell's comments follow:

The one silver lining to this cloud of a case (biker hit by diplomat's wife in 
UK, who fled to America claiming diplomatic immunity) is that it might make the 
British judges think twice about approving the extradiiton of Julian Assange to 
America.  
After some looking, mostly using google to find ' "Julian Assange" 
"extraterritoriality" '  , I haven't found anything credible justifying the 
extradition of Julian Assange, for any reason.  If anything, quite the 
opposite.  I'd sure like to read any filings in a British court on this 
subject. Maybe the filings haven't been made, yet.  

               Jim Bell
 
-
Assange seemingly abandoned by organization of journalists:     (and)
Assange spied on while in London Embassy.    
https://www.justice-integrity.org/news-reports/1731-december-2019-news

Extradition hearing will begin Feb 24, 2020 for a week, and will continue May 
18, 2020 for three weeks.  
---

https://dcperiodical.com/all-posts/

"Julian Assange's Transfer Out of Solitary is Good, But it's Not Enough"




                          Jim Bell


Re: Sacoolas case: Will it help Assange?

2020-01-29 Thread Comet Dweller
On 29/01/2020 08:27, jim bell wrote:

The one silver lining to this cloud of a case (biker hit by diplomat's wife in 
UK, who fled to America claiming diplomatic immunity) is that it might make the 
British judges think twice about approving the extradiiton of Julian Assange to 
America.

No, they won't care. This is for three reasons: (1) The two cases are genuinely 
not substantively linked in any way, (2) the whole Sacoolas thing is Boris 
posturing so as to be seen to be doing something (even though it's a pointless 
something), and (3) Assange's extradition is already effectively decided; of 
course he's going to be extradited.

An additional point on the Sacoolas affair: As I understand it, she had 
legitimate and genuine diplomatic immunity in the UK. As such, there was never 
any possibility that she could be held accountable in any way or that she could 
ever be extradited from the USA. As the US State Department said, it would set 
a dangerous precedent to extradite her. Like it or not, they are right. Even 
when diplomats commit serious (alleged) crimes, they are in practice exempt 
from prosecution in the host country. That's the way it has always been and, 
all things considered, the way it should be. I.e. The benefits of this 
arrangement outweigh the drawbacks, overall.

It beggared belief in my view that the UK actually formally requested 
extradition of Sacoolas: They knew it would be rejected. They would have 
rejected it themselves if the circumstances had been reversed. The only 
possible reason to go ahead with the extradition request was, as I mentioned 
above, for the Boris administration to be seen to be doing something (even 
though they knew it could not, would not, and should not amount to anything). 
That the British government then expressed surprise at the rejection is even 
more absurd.


After some looking, mostly using google to find ' "Julian Assange" 
"extraterritoriality" '  , I haven't found anything credible justifying the 
extradition of Julian Assange, for any reason.


Isn't there an extradition treaty between the UK and USA? As such, if he is 
accused of a serious crime in the USA then there seems to be little reason for 
the UK courts or government to prevent his extradition (although the USA's 
apparent presumption of extraterritoriality certainly grates). He did not have 
diplomatic immunity, as Sacoolas did.



Sacoolas case: Will it help Assange?

2020-01-29 Thread jim bell
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7922781/America-REFUSES-hand-diplomats-wife-accused-killing-19-year-old-British-biker-Harry-Dun.html


[Partial quote follows:]

* Motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a head-on collision with a car 
in August
* Anne Sacoolas is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the 
road
* She was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but fled the 
country
* US Secretary of State Pompeo turned down extradition request for Mrs 
Sacoolas
By JOE MIDDLETON FOR MAILONLINE and SEBASTIAN MURPHY-BATES FOR MAILONLINE
   
Harry Dunn's furious family have slammed the 'indefensible' US decision to 
block the deportation of Anne Sacoolas in a 'dark day for the special 
relationship' and demanded a meeting with Boris Johnson.
America yesterday refused to hand over a diplomat's wife who is accused of 
killing a 19-year-old British biker in a crash near a US airbase.
Mr Dunn was killed in a head-on collision with a car on August 27 last year 
near RAF Croughton, in Northamptonshire.
Anne Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence official, is believed to have 
been driving on the wrong side of the road and was charged with causing death 
by dangerous driving. But she claimed diplomatic immunity and flew to the US.

[end of partial quote]

Jim Bell's comments follow:

The one silver lining to this cloud of a case (biker hit by diplomat's wife in 
UK, who fled to America claiming diplomatic immunity) is that it might make the 
British judges think twice about approving the extradiiton of Julian Assange to 
America.  
After some looking, mostly using google to find ' "Julian Assange" 
"extraterritoriality" '  , I haven't found anything credible justifying the 
extradition of Julian Assange, for any reason.  If anything, quite the 
opposite.  I'd sure like to read any filings in a British court on this 
subject. Maybe the filings haven't been made, yet.  

               Jim Bell
 
-
Assange seemingly abandoned by organization of journalists:     (and)
Assange spied on while in London Embassy.    
https://www.justice-integrity.org/news-reports/1731-december-2019-news

Extradition hearing will begin Feb 24, 2020 for a week, and will continue May 
18, 2020 for three weeks.  
---

https://dcperiodical.com/all-posts/

"Julian Assange's Transfer Out of Solitary is Good, But it's Not Enough"




                          Jim Bell