Julian Assange closer to extradition from UK to US, after US government wins extradition case in London. New news on the Julian Assange case and US involvement.
The journalist Michael Isikoff Yahoo tries to shed some light on the situation, retrieving all the most interesting information of the moment. In his report, Isikoff explains what has happened in the last 17 months and what the current condition of Julian Assange is.
Intelligence agents may have spied on the famous computer scientist, who has been at the top of the United States blacklist for a long time. When? While in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
La CIA would have exploited – according to Assage's lawyers – the Spanish security company Undercover Global, manipulating employees and pushing them to control the computer technician's movements.
Here is what Isikoff discovered and how Spain defended itself from the accusations received.
Who spied on Assange?
The Ecuadorian government took over the Spanish security company Undercover Global (UC Global) to provide protection and security to the London embassy.
Yet, according to the latest news, some of the employees are involved in unprofessional actions. They took advantage of their power to control Assage, going so far as to install microphones and secret cameras inside the embassy.
Spain – specifically the Spanish High Court – investigated UC Global's involvement. During 2019, several whistleblowers presented their testimony to the Spanish government, which validated the theory of espionage operations on Assage.
In the same year, the authorities arrested the company's CEO, David Morales.
However, David was released shortly thereafter. We don't know if it will face new charges in the future, as Spain is still under investigation.
At the moment, the United States refuses to cooperate with the Spanish government and with those responsible for the investigations.
United States, Spain and Italy
According to Isikoff's report, we know that the Spanish authorities attempted to contact the US Department of Justice. To be precise, they have contacted him three times in the last 17 months, hoping to receive a response regarding the involvement between UC Global and American Intelligence.
Unfortunately, no one replied.
Indeed, the US Department of Justice has asked for more information on the basis of the investigation, without saying a word. Failure to respond could have serious consequences.
First, the violation of the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT extension) between the United States and Spain. MLATs are intended to help and facilitate the transmission of information between different governments.
And in Italy?
The Yhaoo journalist's report also talks about us. Apparently, after years of supporting the IT cause, Italy has preferred to abstain.
The Italian government will not intervene in favor of the protection of Julian Assange. On the contrary, we will let the situation be handled between Spain and the United States.
The United States against Julian Assange
But why does the United States not intervene directly?
Apparently, their “hatred” towards Julian Assange is more deep-rooted than expected. The man has been on the government's blacklist since 2010, the year in which Wikileaks published a series of secret military documents.
The information, obtained from the former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, contained evidence of hypothetical “war crimes” in Iraq and Afghanistan. As can be easily imagined, the release of these documents caused many problems for the government.
In 2019, Assange is accused by the US Department of Justice in connection with this leak.
The prosecution relied on the Espionage Act, a federal law associated with the release of national security information. Assange was accused of having caused considerable damage to the American government.
Journalists and activists contested the accusation, speaking of civil liberties and freedom of the press, proving themselves in favor of the computer scientist. Yet, hatred for Assange has not diminished at all.
Instead, according to a 2017 report, the CIA placed him under direct control. Intelligence involvement is linked to Wikileaks release of “Vault 7”, a collection of data on the CIA's hacking tools and procedures.
We do not know when the US government will respond to the accusations, nor when Assange will be able to declare himself completely "free". For the moment, the situation seems more intricate and complex than expected.
