Think Freedom of Political Comment is Free in Ecuador? Maybe, but not if you are a refugee

ASSANGE CASE

rt.com/ WikiLeaks supporters, including Kim Dotcom and journalist Glenn Greenwald, have slammed Ecuador’s foreign minister after he claimed that refugees were prohibited under international law from making political comments.

Jose Valencia made the statement in an interview with El Universo when asked about Assange’s ongoing asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Ecuador is preparing to hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities.

The new chancellor of Ecuador said that “according to international law and the conventions that regulate asylum, a person who is isolated cannot make pronouncements that affect the relationship of Ecuador with other countries.” This also means that a refugee cannot interfere in the internal political situations of other countries, according to Valencia.

The statement comes just days after Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said that Assange had been told to refrain from intervening in the “politics and self-determination” of the country or face consequences.
SPANISH SLANG ECUADOR – READ THE BOOK – SPEAK LIKE AN ECUADORIAN

Intercept co-editor Greenwald took the comments to task, questioning when this rule was created and if it was a generally accepted clause.

Greenwald noted that it seemed “bizarre” and “contradictory” that a government would grant someone asylum on the grounds that their fundamental rights were being abridged through persecution, only to tell them they’re forbidden from engaging in global political debates. Read Full Article