阿桑奇將離開厄瓜多爾駐英使館

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has confirmed he will “soon” be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has sought refuge from prosecution for more than two years, and admitted his confinement had affected his heAlth.

“維基解密”網站(Wikileaks)的創始人朱利安•阿桑奇(Julian Assange)證實他將“很快”離開倫敦的厄瓜多爾駐英使館。爲了躲避公訴，他已在該使館尋求庇護2年多，他承認幽閉生活已經影響他的健康。

“I can confirm I am leaving the embassy soon, but perhaps not for the reasons that the Murdoch press and Sky News are saying at the moment,” Mr Assange said at a news conference inside the embassy yesterday.

“我可以證實我將很快離開使館，但或許不是默多克(Murdoch)旗下報紙以及天空新聞電視臺(Sky News)現在報道的原因，”阿桑奇昨日在使館內的一個新聞發佈會上說。

Reports in the British media had stated that the 43-year-old Australian was suffering from an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and a chronic cough.

英國媒體的報道稱這位43歲的澳大利亞人罹患心律不齊、高血壓和慢性咳嗽。

When asked to clarify whether his health was a factor in his decision, he said: “In relation to my health, as you can imagine, being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years, and in this embassy for two years, has [had an effect].”

在被要求澄清他的健康是否影響了這個決定時，阿桑奇說：“關於我的健康，就像你們可以想象的，未經起訴就以種種方式被扣押在這個國家4年，在這個使館呆了2年，有（影響）。”

Mr Assange has been holed up in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges, which he denies. He fears this could lead to his extradition to the US, where he could face trial for divulging diplomatic and military information via his website.

自2012年6月起，阿桑奇一直藏身於厄瓜多爾駐英使館，以躲避以性侵指控的罪名被引渡到瑞典；他否認性侵指控。他擔心這會導致他進而被引渡到美國，他可能在美國因通過自己的網站泄露外交和軍事信息而面臨審判。

Although he was granted political asylum by the government of President Rafael Correa more than two years ago, the UK refused to grant him safe passage, meaning he would be arrested on stepping out of the embassy in west London.

儘管厄瓜多爾總統拉斐爾•科雷亞(Rafael Correa)在兩年多前就授予阿桑奇政治庇護，但英國方面拒絕提供安全通道，這意味着一旦他踏出位於倫敦西區的使館就會遭到逮捕。

Mr Assange expressed frustration about his confinement and the slow pace of legal and diplomatic negotiations since he entered the embassy, but he refused to give any details about when he might be leaving or why.

阿桑奇對自己的幽閉生活以及自他進入使館後法律和外交方面的談判進展緩慢表示失望，但他拒絕就離開時間和原因提供任何細節。

Mr Assange claimed the cost of the two-year police operation to guard the embassy had reached £7m.

他宣稱2年間警方花費了700萬英鎊盯住使館。

Sitting alongside Mr Assange at the press conference, Ricardo Patiño, Ecuador’s foreign minister, stressed that the Australian’s “human rights should be respected”.

厄瓜多爾外長裏卡多•帕蒂尼奧(Ricardo Patiño)在新聞發佈會上坐在阿桑奇身邊，他強調阿桑奇的“人權應該得到尊重”。

He added: “We will be continuing our work to find a friendly and diplomatic solution.”

他補充說：“我們會繼續進行我們的工作，找到一個友好的外交解決方案。”

However, lawyers suggested Mr Assange’s legal options were limited. Michael Caplan QC, partner at Kingsley Napley who practises in domestic, international, criminal and regulatory law, said police would have to arrest Mr Assange if he left the embassy and arrange for his extradition to Sweden.

然而，律師們提出，阿桑奇的法律選項有限。承接國內、國際、刑事以及監管法律案件的英國律師事務所Kingsley Napley合夥人、御用大律師邁克爾•卡普蘭(Michael Caplan QC)表示，一旦阿桑奇離開使館，警方將必須逮捕他，並安排將其引渡到瑞典。