A possible grab list of Julian Assange’s belongings set to be seized from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was protected under asylum for nearly seven years, has been uncovered in a trash bag outside the building.
The US deadline to file their final extradition request for Assange is in three weeks, and Ecuadorian officials have announced that they are travelling to London to allow US prosecutors to enter the embassy and take any of the publisher’s belongings — including his legal documents.
A WikiLeaks supporter had been monitoring the building waiting for officials to enter the embassy and seize the persecuted publisher’s belongings when he noticed several bags of trash placed outside the embassy containing keyboards and other items that could have potentially belonged to Assange.
In a bit of investigative journalism, he approached the bags and looked inside. Though he was confronted by security rather quickly, he was able to take photos of some of the contents — which included a list that he believes may be items they are planning to seize.
“I walked by the Embassy and noticed an oddly large amount of rubbish in the side street outside of the embassy. There was also rubbish in the side gate but I did not take that,” the supporter, who does not want to be named, said.
“Inside the rubbish were things like broken apart keyboards, an HP laptop box, and what appeared to be an Assange ‘grab list,'” he said.
The list includes laptops, phones, pieces of paper with URLs, passwords, etc., audio recording devices, HDs, USBs, VR set, trinkets, keyboards, card readers, and CDs.
The list also includes several smart phones, two of which are described as “in use,” one of which is described as “no longer,” and another as “clean.”
The supporter attempted to take the bags and hop in an Uber, but says that embassy staff and security ran out and began kicking the car. The supporter fled while the Uber driver got into a fight with the embassy staff, who were threatening to call the police, and the bags were thrown into the street.
“I contacted a lawyer and he said I was free to take rubbish that’s on the street so I attempted to do so, however after loading one or two bags into the Uber the staff from the embassy ran out and kicked the Uber. The Uber driver became angry at the embassy staff and they had an argument. I abandoned the rubbish on the side of the street unfortunately and had to walk away,” the supporter explained.
According to a statement from WikiLeaks, among the material in the embassy that they expect the US to seize are two of his manuscripts, as well as his legal papers, medical records and electronic equipment. “The seizure of his belongings violates laws that protect medical and legal confidentiality and press protections,” the statement reads.
“Ecuador is run by criminals and liars. There is no doubt in my mind that Ecuador, either independently or at the behest of the U
The international legal coordinator for the defense of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, Baltasar Garzon, described the impending seizure as “extremely worrying.”
“It is extremely worrying that Ecuador has proceeded with the search and seizure of property, documents, information and other material belonging to the defence of Julian Assange, which Ecuador arbitrarily confiscated, so that these can be handed over to the the agent of political persecution against him, the United States. It is an unprecedented attack on the rights of the defence, freedom of expression and access to information exposing massive human rights abuses and corruption. We call on international protection institutions to intervene to put a stop to this persecution,” Garzon said.
The officials were expected to arrive and begin removing Assange’s belongings on Monday — but reporters on the scene had not seen them enter by 5 a.m. on Tuesday. It is unclear if they came during the early morning hours before supporters arrived back at the embassy to keep watch.
