Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said in comments to Sputnik that the arrest of WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower Julian Assange was a yet another example of double standard policies because while he was accused of leaking classified data, no one was talking about incriminating anything to major media outlets who published that very information
MONTEVIDEO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2019) Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said in comments to Sputnik that the arrest of WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower Julian Assange was a yet another example of double standard policies because while he was accused of leaking classified data, no one was talking about incriminating anything to major media outlets who published that very information.
On Thursday, Assange was arrested at the US request at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been sheltering since 2012, after his political asylum had been revoked. The WikiLeaks founder, who has become famous for leaking classified US government data, now faces extradition to the United States on computer hacking charges and could get up to five years in jail.
"There are horrible double standards ... Assange obtained the information but it was the New York Times and El Pais that published it, so if the presumed crime constitutes spreading classified information, why not pick on these media? Because they want ... to break the weakest link in the chain, which is Julian Assange himself," the former president said.
The United States now has until June 12 to provide US authorities with all necessary documents for Assange's extradition.
