LONDON – Julian Assange’s talks on the last component of his seven years at ecuador’s embassy in London have been systematically intercepted, even in the bathroom, a London court said Wednesday.
In written statements at Assange’s extradition hearing, two anonymous witnesses working for a Spanish company with a security contract at the embassy said the WikiLeaks founder was facing an ongoing spy operation starting in 2017 after he Donald Trump became president of the United States.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser gave the two witnesses anonymity on Tuesday, fearing for their safety. Lawyers acting on behalf of the United States government did not challenge the filing of anonymous statements, but claimed that they were largely irrelevant to the case being at the Old Bailey in London.
Both witnesses alleged that David Morales, director of Spanish security firm Undercover Global, had moved to the “dark side” and ordered the installation of cameras with complicated audio functions to secretly record Assange’s meetings at the embassy, especially those of his lawyers.
Assange lived in the embassy for seven years from 2012 after seeking refuge there while fearing his possible extradition to the Etts-Unis. Il deported in April 2019 and has been in a London criminal ever since.
Anonymous witnesses stated that Morales had stated that surveillance had been initiated at the request of “our American friends” and that he had been widely rewarded.
One witness testified that Morales went to Las Vegas around July 2016 to introduce the security company and received an “flashy contract” with The Vegas Sands, which belonged to Sheldon Adelson, a wealthy Associate of Trump.
Returning from one of his trips to the United States, David Morales amassed all sherry workers and told us that “we have moved and from now on we will play in the major leagues,” the witness told me.
The other undeclared witness, who has been hired as a computer expert since 2015, said that in Jerez, the city of southern Spain where UC Global was headquartered, Morales had declared in December 2017 that “Americans are desperate. “The witness stated that a suggestion had been made that “more excessive measures be used against the guest” to end Assange’s permanent setting at the embassy. “
Specifically, the witness stated that the concept of leaving the embassy door open had been raised, “which would allow arguing that this was an accidental error, which would allow others to enter the embassy from the outside and kidnap the refugee. , according to the witness, a suggestion that Assange could be poisoned.
“All these tips, according to Morales, were paid attention to their dealings with their contacts in the United States,” the witness said.
The witness also alleged that Morales had asked him shortly after he installed a microphone in a chimney extinguisher in an embassy function room, as well as in a bathroom where Assange had held assemblies due to concerns that he was espionage. .
“I used a nearby plug to hide a microphone on a cable in the bathroom at the back of the embassy,” the witness said. “This has never been eliminated and is still there. “
U. S. prosecutors have rated Assange, 49, with 17 espionage rates and a computer misuse rate following WikiLeaks’ publication of secret US army documents a decade ago, with a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
Assange’s defense team says it is entitled to First Amendment protections by publishing leaked documents that revealed US military irregularities. But it’s not the first time In Iraq and Afghanistan, it would only worsen if it was in inhospit criminal situations in the United States.
Assange’s extradition hearing, which has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will end this week.
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