RRD: In a bizarre move Britain has invoked the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act of 1987.This act, which was passed to prevent atrocities like the shooting of PC Yvonne Fletcher, is now being used to seize a man brought up (formally) on rape charges,& (informally), for his Wikileaks website.
Of course Embassies have had their sovereignty violated before:
Ours was taken over by Iranians,
We blew up China's ,the Russians planted bugs in our embassy etc(I am limiting myself to State Actors).
But this will still be of concern to many diplomats around the world.
BBC News - Julian Assange: UK 'threat' to arrest Wikileaks founder
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19259623
”At a news conference in Quito on Wednesday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, said a letter from the UK government had been delivered through a British embassy official. "Today we received from the United Kingdom an express threat, in writing, that they might storm our embassy in London if we don't hand over Julian Assange," he said. "Ecuador rejects in the most emphatic terms the explicit threat of the British official communication." He said such a threat was "improper of a democratic, civilised and rule-abiding country". He added: "If the measure announced in the British official communication is enacted, it will be interpreted by Ecuador as an unacceptable, unfriendly and hostile act and as an attempt against our sovereignty. It would force us to respond. "We are not a British colony." A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK remained "determined" to fulfil its obligation to extradite Mr Assange. "Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadoreans' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or to the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK," the spokesman said. "We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution." The law the UK has informed Ecuador it could use in the case is the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987. It allows the UK to revoke the diplomatic status of an embassy on UK soil, which in this case would potentially allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange for breaching the terms of his bail. The act was introduced after PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984.”
Of course Embassies have had their sovereignty violated before:
Ours was taken over by Iranians,
We blew up China's ,the Russians planted bugs in our embassy etc(I am limiting myself to State Actors).
But this will still be of concern to many diplomats around the world.
BBC News - Julian Assange: UK 'threat' to arrest Wikileaks founder
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19259623
”At a news conference in Quito on Wednesday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, said a letter from the UK government had been delivered through a British embassy official. "Today we received from the United Kingdom an express threat, in writing, that they might storm our embassy in London if we don't hand over Julian Assange," he said. "Ecuador rejects in the most emphatic terms the explicit threat of the British official communication." He said such a threat was "improper of a democratic, civilised and rule-abiding country". He added: "If the measure announced in the British official communication is enacted, it will be interpreted by Ecuador as an unacceptable, unfriendly and hostile act and as an attempt against our sovereignty. It would force us to respond. "We are not a British colony." A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK remained "determined" to fulfil its obligation to extradite Mr Assange. "Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadoreans' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or to the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK," the spokesman said. "We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution." The law the UK has informed Ecuador it could use in the case is the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987. It allows the UK to revoke the diplomatic status of an embassy on UK soil, which in this case would potentially allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange for breaching the terms of his bail. The act was introduced after PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984.”
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