The authorities of Ecuador have deprived Julian Assange of asylum in the London embassy. The founder of WikiLeaks is detained by the British police, and this has already been called the biggest betrayal in the history of Ecuador. Why is Assange being avenged and what awaits him?
Julian Assange, a programmer and journalist from Australia, became widely known after the website WikiLeaks, founded by him, published secret documents of the US State Department, as well as materials related to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010.
But it was quite difficult to find out who the policemen, supporting by the arms, were taking out of the building. Assange grew a beard and did not look at all like the energetic man that he had so far presented in photographs.
According to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, Assange's asylum was denied because of his repeated violations of international conventions.
He is expected to remain at a police station in central London until he appears before Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Why the President of Ecuador is accused of betrayal
Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa called the decision of the current government the biggest betrayal in the history of the country. "What he (Moreno. - Approx. ed.) did is a crime that humanity will never forget," Correa said.
London, on the contrary, thanked Moreno. The British Foreign Office believes that justice has prevailed. The representative of the Russian diplomatic department, Maria Zakharova, has a different opinion. "The hand of 'democracy' is squeezing the throat of freedom," she said. The Kremlin expressed the hope that the rights of the arrested person would be respected.
Ecuador harbored Assange because the former president was center-left, critical of US policy, and welcomed WikiLeaks' release of classified documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even before the Internet activist needed asylum, he managed to get to know Correa personally: he interviewed him for the Russia Today channel.
However, in 2017, the government in Ecuador changed, the country headed for rapprochement with the United States. The new president called Assange "a stone in the shoe" and immediately made it clear that his stay on the territory of the embassy would not be delayed.
According to Correa, the moment of truth came at the end of June last year, when US Vice President Michael Pence arrived in Ecuador on a visit. Then everything was decided. "You can be sure: Lenin is just a hypocrite. He has already agreed with the Americans about the fate of Assange. And now he is trying to make us swallow the pill, saying that Ecuador allegedly continues the dialogue," Correa said in an interview with Russia Today.
How Assange made new enemies
The day before his arrest, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin Hrafnsson said that Assange was under total surveillance. "WikiLeaks uncovered a massive spy operation against Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy," he said. According to him, cameras and voice recorders were placed around Assange, and the information received was transmitted to the administration of Donald Trump.
Hrafnsson specified that Assange was going to be expelled from the embassy a week earlier. This did not happen only because WikiLeaks made this information public. A high-ranking source told the portal about the plans of the Ecuadorian authorities, but the head of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, Jose Valencia, denied the rumors.
The expulsion of Assange was preceded by a corruption scandal involving Moreno. In February, WikiLeaks published the INA Papers package, which traced the operations of the offshore company INA Investment, founded by the brother of the Ecuadorian leader. In Quito, they said that this was a plot by Assange with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and former head of Ecuador Rafael Correa to overthrow Moreno.
In early April, Moreno complained about Assange's behavior in Ecuador's London mission. “We have to protect the life of Mr. Assange, but he has already crossed all the lines in terms of violating the agreement that we reached with him,” the president said. “This does not mean that he cannot speak freely, but he cannot lie and hack ". At the same time, back in February last year, it became known that Assange at the embassy was deprived of the opportunity to interact with the outside world, in particular, he was turned off access to the Internet.
Why Sweden stopped persecuting Assange
At the end of last year, Western media, citing sources, reported that Assange would be charged in the United States. This was never officially confirmed, but it was precisely because of Washington's position that Assange had to take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy six years ago.
Sweden, in May 2017, stopped investigating two cases of rape in which the founder of the portal was accused. Assange demanded compensation from the country's government for legal costs in the amount of 900,000 euros.
Earlier, in 2015, Swedish prosecutors also dropped three charges against him due to the statute of limitations.
Where did the rape investigation lead?
Assange arrived in Sweden in the summer of 2010, hoping to get protection from US authorities. But he was under investigation for rape. In November 2010, a warrant for his arrest was issued in Stockholm, and Assange was put on the international wanted list. He was detained in London, but was soon released on bail of 240 thousand pounds.
In February 2011, a British court ruled to extradite Assange to Sweden, followed by a series of successful appeals for the founder of WikiLeaks.
The British authorities placed him under house arrest before deciding to extradite him to Sweden. Breaking his promise to the authorities, Assange asked for asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, which was granted to him. Since then, the UK has had its own grievances against the founder of WikiLeaks.
What's next for Assange?
The man was re-arrested following a U.S. extradition request for publishing classified documents, police said. At the same time, Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Duncan said that Assange would not be sent to the United States if he faced the death penalty there.
In the UK, Assange is likely to appear in court on the afternoon of 11 April. This is stated on the WikiLeaks Twitter page. It is likely that the British authorities will seek a maximum sentence of 12 months, the man's mother said, citing his lawyer.
At the same time, the Swedish prosecutor's office is considering reopening the investigation into the rape allegation. Lawyer Elizabeth Massey Fritz, who represented the interests of the victim, will seek this.
20.04.201715:58
The temple of Alexander Nevsky at the Verkhnepyshminsky cemetery did not accommodate everyone who wanted to attend the memorial service. Probably several hundred people came to see off the tragically deceased townswoman on her last journey.
Farewell to Irina Vakhrusheva was scheduled for one in the afternoon, but people began to gather at the temple much earlier.
Everyone has fresh flowers in their hands, mostly roses, some brought wreaths
From 12.30 from the shopping center "Kuprit" to the cemetery of caring citizens who want to say goodbye, two minibuses delivered.
People are crowding near the temple and in the parking lot - they are waiting for the arrival of the hearse with the body of Irina.
The coffin is brought into the temple, and the crowd of those who came to say goodbye tries to go inside. Not everyone succeeds: the religious building simply could not accommodate everyone.
Among those gathered are relatives, work colleagues, people with whom Irina studied or once lived in the same yard. Some who come confess: they are here,to lead a stranger on their last journey. The tragedy that occurred in Verkhnyaya Pyshma last weekend became common for most residents of the city, and many of them considered it their duty to say goodbye to their countrywoman and express condolences to the relatives of Irina Vakhrusheva. Moreover, the Upper Pyshma people helped in the search for the missing girl andorganized fundraising her to the funeral.
Before the start of the memorial service, the priest urged everyone to think about their lives and raise their children correctly, explaining to them that murder is a grave sin, and that they should never do the same. Even in thought.
“A person should die of weakness and old age, and not at the age of 30, young and healthy, and even so tragically. For such slovenliness that that person did with Irina - it is necessary to destroy it publicly, in front of everyone, for example, in the square. Although I am a clergyman, I am sure that kindness should be with fists. Let's hope that at least the Lord will forgive her murderer for his recklessness,” said the priest from the Alexander Nevsky Church and offered to pray for Irina.
During the funeral, many did not hold back their tears. The funeral service lasted about 20 minutes, even more than half an hour, relatives, friends and simply not indifferent residents of Upper Pyshma said goodbye to the dead young mother.
“She lies there, like a sleeping beauty,” said the girl, barely holding back her tears, who came out of the temple.
Those who have already said goodbye leave the temple and wait on the street: the men gather in silent groups, the women stand aside and wipe away their tears.
Someone in the side whisper And . Elderly women, holding wreaths, are talking about the course of yesterday's trial, which took place in Verkhnyaya Pyshma and alleged killer Irina Vakhrusheva.
"He's crazy, after all. If only the court would take into account all the circumstances, after all,” the townspeople sigh.
Those close to the family are discussing the eve of the incident: they say that before, 30-year-old Irina Vakhrusheva quarreled with her roommate. By the way, the man was present at the farewell, the organization of the funeral itself, according to distant relatives, was handled by the aunt of the deceased young woman.
Most of all those who came to say goodbye discussed the weather: instead of snow and rain, the sun shone
Butterflies fluttered over wreaths and bouquets of fresh flowers
After parting, the funeral procession moved along the main alley of the Verkhnepyshminsky churchyard to the grave of Irina Vakhrusheva to the sound of bells. She will be buried next to her brother and father.
In Verkhnyaya Pyshma on Monday, April 17, a suspect in the murder of 30-year-old Irina Vakhrusheva was detained. In the near future, the court will choose a measure of restraint for him. We publish the entire chronology of events known to date.
It all happened last Saturday, April 15th. 30-year-old Irina Vakhrusheva, young and beautiful woman, in the evening I arranged a meeting with a friend who lives just a few houses away. Around 20.00 Irina went to visit, but she never got to her friend. Nobody saw Irina alive again.
Resident who died at the hands of a rapist Upper Pyshma Irina Vakhrusheva. Photo: AiF-Ural / Irina Vakhrusheva/vk.com
Irina did not reach her friend. At that moment, when the girl was moving towards her friend's house, she was talking to her on the phone. Suddenly, the connection abruptly cut off. The friend got excited, and that evening, Irina's common-law husband filed a complaint with the police.
Relatives of Irina the next day through search parties in in social networks asked for help in finding her. As a special sign of Irina, it was indicated that she had a tattoo between her shoulder blades, and a piercing in her nose. She was wearing a black hooded jacket, black boots, blue jeans and had a black bag with her.
In fact, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Murder”).
Meanwhile, the police did not doze off and already on the night of April 17 they came to the suspect, a 34-year-old resident of Yekaterinburg, who works as a turner and had previously been convicted of rape. As noted by AiF-Ural in the Investigative Committee, the man at first began to deny his guilt. But in the end, he wrote a confession.
On the same day, the rapist indicated where he hid the body of 30-year-old Irina Vakhrusheva, and during the course of investigative measures, hiding his face completely from the public, indicated to the investigators all the circumstances of the attack on the girl on the evening of April 15.
At the moment when Irina left the house at 46 Ural Workers Street and was talking on the phone with her friend, a man attacked her. According to investigators, the 34-year-old turner grabbed the girl and dragged her to the basement of a nearby building. This is a house on Ural Workers Street 46A. The door to the basement was closed, and the rapist threatened his victim with a knife, then used a stun gun and raped him on the stairs at the entrance to the basement.
After committing the atrocity, the recidivist killed his victim and dragged her corpse into the trunk of his Renault Logan car, and then drove it to the 329th kilometer of the Yekaterinburg-Serov highway, where he got rid of the girl’s body, burying it in the ground along with personal belongings. After that, he calmly went home, having previously hidden the knife in one of the garden houses.
At the moment, investigators are establishing the exact motives for the murder of the girl and are looking into the issue of giving a legal assessment in connection with the rape of the victim in order to bring charges under this criminal article as well.
“In the future, taking into account all the circumstances of the deed, the issue of presenting the appropriate charges to the detainee will be resolved. Also, in the near future, the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention will be considered for the attacker, ”said Alexander Shulga, senior assistant to the head of the Investigative Department of the ICR for the Sverdlovsk Region, to AiF-Ural.
Irina Vakhrusheva, a 30-year-old resident of Verkhnyaya Pyshma, who died at the hands of a rapist. Photo: AiF-Ural / Irina Vakhrusheva/vk.com
The deceased Irina Vakhrusheva left a five-year-old child.