qh4dotcom
08-26-2012, 07:33 PM
This case exposes the Ecuadorian government's hypocrisy after it granted asylum to Julian Assange....if you embarrass a country Ecuador disapproves of like Assange embarrassed the US, Ecuador will extend its hospitality and protect you...if you embarrass one of Ecuador's dictator allies, Ecuador can send you back to the den of wolves.
http://www.ww4report.com/node/11415
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ecuador-could-send-dissident-back-to-belarus-8082017.html
http://news.sky.com/story/975389/assange-ecuador-accused-of-double-standards
Alexander Barankov fled to Ecuador from Belarus after claiming to have unearthed corruption there as a military investigator.
Ecuador gave him refugee status two years ago, but in June police came for him and took him to jail.
His Ecuadorean partner Mabel Andrade is distraught as she waits for more information about the case.
"I'm worried for his health - for his mind’s health," she said. "He’s worried, really worried, for his life now."
Mr Barankov was arrested when Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko came to Ecuador and met its president, Rafael Correa.
Alexander Barankov Mabel Andrade Belorussian blogger Mabel Andrade says Mr Barankov is woirried for his life
Just like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Mr Barankov used the internet to expose wrongdoing - in his case in a blog he ran about oppression back home called belorussialibre.blogspot.com.
But he has been treated very differently to Mr Assange.
Far from being protected by Ecuador, Mr Barankov has been locked up in one of Latin America’s most notorious jails, a 19th Century prison on the outskirts of Quito.
Ecuadorean authorities are acting on a Belarusian request to extradite him.
Ms Andrade said police have told Mr Barankov he has been stripped of his refugee status. The charges he faces there means he almost certainly will be given the death sentence.
She accuses the government of double standards in the case of Mr Assange, who is currently avoiding extradition to Sweden over sexual assalt allegations by hiding out in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
"I ask the same rights for all people. If Ecuador wants to give protection, Alexander needs more than any person here. I think there is hypocrisy here."
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks makes a statement from a balcony of the Equador Embassy in London. Ecuador's protection of Julian Assange is hypocrisy, says Ms Andrade
The Ecuadorean government declined to comment on the case. But court officials have confirmed that an extradition request could be approved even though Mr Barankov has been given refugee status.
Ms Andrade said police have put her under surveillance and listen to her phone. She claims officials have failed to give her a straight answer on Mr Barankov’s likely fate. But she said she will continue to fight to save him from extradition.
"I never finish with my hope. This is only what I have now. I don’t have anything more. I can only hope all will be fine and justice will be done here," she said.
Prosecutors in Belarus accuse the 30-year-old Barankov of fraud and extortion. He calls the charges bogus, retribution for his having exposed a petroleum-smuggling ring involving senior officials of President Alexander Lukashenko's government, including relatives of the leader.
Barankov is backed by rights activists at home, where Lukashenko has ruled for 18 years by fixing elections, quashing free speech, jailing dissidents and keeping 80 percent of industry in state hands.
"They accuse me of fraud and corruption," Barankov said by phone from prison Friday. "It's easy to accuse (someone) of this because the police, courts and prosecutor's office are employees of the president and his family."
Barankov arrived in Ecuador in August 2009 after fleeing the charges, which he said were filed after he uncovered the smuggling ring. Belarus has been trying to extradite him ever since.
In 2010, when he overstayed his visa, he was imprisoned for 55 days but was freed after authorities granted him refugee status, finding merit in his claim of political persecution.
Belarus continued to press for his extradition, but Judge Carlos Ramirez of Ecuador's highest court, the National Court of Justice, denied it in October 2011, finding the evidence of Barankov's alleged crimes inadequate.
Then, on June 7, after a revised extradition request from Belarus, Barankov was arrested by 15 police officers who hauled him from his home in a middle-class neighborhood of northern Quito.
Later that month, Lukashenko visited Ecuador for two days, signing agreements on trade, education, agriculture and the eventual exchange of diplomats with President Rafael Correa. A preliminary defense cooperation agreement was also signed. Under Correa, Ecuador has been deepening commercial and political ties with U.S. rivals including Iran, Russia and China.
"Everything changed after Lukashenko came," Barankov said by phone from Quito's cold, overcrowded century-old Prison No. 1. "I want Ecuadoreans to open their eyes and see what's happening to me."
An official at the National Court of Justice said that Ramirez could rule as early as Tuesday on the new extradition request and that Barankov could lose despite his refugee status.
It would then be up to Correa to decide whether he is extradited.
http://www.ww4report.com/node/11415
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ecuador-could-send-dissident-back-to-belarus-8082017.html
http://news.sky.com/story/975389/assange-ecuador-accused-of-double-standards
Alexander Barankov fled to Ecuador from Belarus after claiming to have unearthed corruption there as a military investigator.
Ecuador gave him refugee status two years ago, but in June police came for him and took him to jail.
His Ecuadorean partner Mabel Andrade is distraught as she waits for more information about the case.
"I'm worried for his health - for his mind’s health," she said. "He’s worried, really worried, for his life now."
Mr Barankov was arrested when Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko came to Ecuador and met its president, Rafael Correa.
Alexander Barankov Mabel Andrade Belorussian blogger Mabel Andrade says Mr Barankov is woirried for his life
Just like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Mr Barankov used the internet to expose wrongdoing - in his case in a blog he ran about oppression back home called belorussialibre.blogspot.com.
But he has been treated very differently to Mr Assange.
Far from being protected by Ecuador, Mr Barankov has been locked up in one of Latin America’s most notorious jails, a 19th Century prison on the outskirts of Quito.
Ecuadorean authorities are acting on a Belarusian request to extradite him.
Ms Andrade said police have told Mr Barankov he has been stripped of his refugee status. The charges he faces there means he almost certainly will be given the death sentence.
She accuses the government of double standards in the case of Mr Assange, who is currently avoiding extradition to Sweden over sexual assalt allegations by hiding out in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
"I ask the same rights for all people. If Ecuador wants to give protection, Alexander needs more than any person here. I think there is hypocrisy here."
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks makes a statement from a balcony of the Equador Embassy in London. Ecuador's protection of Julian Assange is hypocrisy, says Ms Andrade
The Ecuadorean government declined to comment on the case. But court officials have confirmed that an extradition request could be approved even though Mr Barankov has been given refugee status.
Ms Andrade said police have put her under surveillance and listen to her phone. She claims officials have failed to give her a straight answer on Mr Barankov’s likely fate. But she said she will continue to fight to save him from extradition.
"I never finish with my hope. This is only what I have now. I don’t have anything more. I can only hope all will be fine and justice will be done here," she said.
Prosecutors in Belarus accuse the 30-year-old Barankov of fraud and extortion. He calls the charges bogus, retribution for his having exposed a petroleum-smuggling ring involving senior officials of President Alexander Lukashenko's government, including relatives of the leader.
Barankov is backed by rights activists at home, where Lukashenko has ruled for 18 years by fixing elections, quashing free speech, jailing dissidents and keeping 80 percent of industry in state hands.
"They accuse me of fraud and corruption," Barankov said by phone from prison Friday. "It's easy to accuse (someone) of this because the police, courts and prosecutor's office are employees of the president and his family."
Barankov arrived in Ecuador in August 2009 after fleeing the charges, which he said were filed after he uncovered the smuggling ring. Belarus has been trying to extradite him ever since.
In 2010, when he overstayed his visa, he was imprisoned for 55 days but was freed after authorities granted him refugee status, finding merit in his claim of political persecution.
Belarus continued to press for his extradition, but Judge Carlos Ramirez of Ecuador's highest court, the National Court of Justice, denied it in October 2011, finding the evidence of Barankov's alleged crimes inadequate.
Then, on June 7, after a revised extradition request from Belarus, Barankov was arrested by 15 police officers who hauled him from his home in a middle-class neighborhood of northern Quito.
Later that month, Lukashenko visited Ecuador for two days, signing agreements on trade, education, agriculture and the eventual exchange of diplomats with President Rafael Correa. A preliminary defense cooperation agreement was also signed. Under Correa, Ecuador has been deepening commercial and political ties with U.S. rivals including Iran, Russia and China.
"Everything changed after Lukashenko came," Barankov said by phone from Quito's cold, overcrowded century-old Prison No. 1. "I want Ecuadoreans to open their eyes and see what's happening to me."
An official at the National Court of Justice said that Ramirez could rule as early as Tuesday on the new extradition request and that Barankov could lose despite his refugee status.
It would then be up to Correa to decide whether he is extradited.