The French National Assembly on Friday, February 4, rejected a draft resolution calling on the government to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
17 deputies voted in favor of the document, 31 – against.
Debate over the resolution went on throughout Friday and ended only late in the evening.
The initiative for consideration by the lower house of the French Parliament was introduced by a number of deputies, including Jennifer de Temmerman, Cedric Villani, Francois Ruffin, Jean Lassalle. They argued their call to grant Assange asylum in France by the fact that for more than ten years he has been subjected to judicial, and in fact political persecution by the United States, while France is a country that protects freedom of the press and the individual.
January 24 WikiLeaks reported that the London High Court allowed Julian Assange to appeal the decision on his extradition to the United States. It was clarified that the founder of the company won on his petition for an appeal in court.
In December, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales upheld the American side’s appeal to extradite the founder of WikiLeaks to the United States. According to Reuters, the case will be returned to the trial court, which previously ruled that the man could not be extradited to the States because of the risk of his suicide. In addition, the court decision stated that Assange should remain in custody.
Assange’s fiancee Stella Morris, in turn, said that the court’s decision would be challenged.
On the same day, Reporters Without Borders’ director of international campaigns, Rebecca Vincent, said the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was “perhaps a matter of life and death.”
The founder of WikiLeaks is currently in UK custody. In the United States, he is charged with the publication of top-secret documents. In the UK, on January 4, a court ruled not to extradite Assange to the United States because of his suicidal tendencies and the risk to his life.
In November, Assange’s father, John Shipton, said that only France could save his son from extradition to the United States, where the journalist would face a 175-year prison sentence.
Shipton believes that his son did a lot for France by publishing data on American wiretapping of French presidents and CIA spying during the 2012 French election campaign.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
