MADRID: Julian Assange has asked Spain to hand a 20-year jail sentence to the head of a security firm who spied on the Wikileaks founder for the United States.
Assange’s lawyers suggested the jail term for David Morales, accused of discovery and disclosure of secrets, bribery, money laundering and illegal possession of weapons, in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday.
Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government over Wikileaks’s work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information.
He had spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven holed up in the Ecuador embassy in London where he claimed political asylum.
Between 2015 and 2018, the Spanish company Undercover Global oversaw the embassy’s security.
It is owned by Morales, a former military officer who is awaiting trial in Spain.
Assange’s defense argues that in 2016, Morales and US authorities established contact regarding the passing of information about Assange.
A Spanish court concluded that Morales allegedly spied on Assange and handed over “illegally obtained information” about him and other personalities, including several Latin American presidents, with whom he had contact.
The judge said in 2017, Morales installed new security cameras which, unlike the previous ones, recorded confidential conversations the activist had with his defense team, his family members and public figures.
Morales told technicians to enable a real-time streaming system while they were installing the cameras, according to the judge.
“He intended to open two streaming channels for online access, one official one for Ecuador and another for ‘friends of the United States’,” who wanted Assange’s extradition, the investigating judge said.
Assange seeks 20-year jail term for Spaniard who spied on him
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Assange seeks 20-year jail term for Spaniard who spied on him
- Julian Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government
- A Spanish court concluded that former military officer David Morales allegedly spied on Assange
Europe to launch international commission for Ukraine war damages
- The two-year-old Register of Damage , which will become part of the commission, has received more than 80,000 claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine under a wide range of categories
THE HAGUE: European leaders including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet in The Hague on Tuesday to launch an International Claims Commission to compensate Kyiv for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.
The one-day conference, co-hosted by the Netherlands and the 46-nation Council of Europe, the continent's top rights group, was to be attended by dozens of senior figures including European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The meeting coincides with ongoing U.S.-backed peace diplomacy aimed at stopping the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Hague-based commission to assess Ukraine's claims over Russia's invasion
• Over 80,000 claims submitted to Register of Damage
• World Bank estimates $524 billion needed for Ukraine reconstruction
• European leaders expected to sign convention on Tuesday
• Ukrainian President Zelenskiy expected to attend one-day conference
Russian officials were not immediately reachable to comment on the plan, but have repeatedly rejected allegations that Russian forces committed war crimes during the conflict.
POSSIBLE AMNESTY IN PEACE DEAL
The possible inclusion of an amnesty for wartime atrocities in a peace deal, which was at one point proposed by the administration of President Donald Trump, could complicate Europe's plans to also compensate victims of abuses in Ukraine ranging from sexual violence and child deportations to destruction of religious sites.
The two-year-old Register of Damage , which will become part of the commission, has received more than 80,000 claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine under a wide range of categories.
More than 50 states and the European Union have drafted a Council of Europe convention to create the commission, which will take force after it has been ratified by 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funds have been secured to finance the work.
Dozens of countries have already indicated support for the commission, likely to be based in The Hague. As many as 35 nations have indicated they will sign the convention at Tuesday's meeting, a source familiar with the discussions said.
The commission - the second part of an international compensation mechanism for Ukraine - will review, assess and decide on claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which was created by the Council of Europe in 2023, and determine compensation awards on a case-by-case basis.
Claims can be filed for damage, loss or injury caused by Russian acts committed in or against Ukraine on or after the February 24, 2022 invasion. The claims, which cover violations of international law, can be brought by affected individuals, companies or the Ukrainian state, a draft of the proposal said.
$524 BILLION FOR POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION
The World Bank has estimated the cost of reconstruction in the coming decade at $524 billion (447 billion euros), or nearly three times Ukraine's economic output in 2024. But that figure is through December 2024 only and does not include damage caused this year, when Russian attacks escalated as part of a campaign targeting utilities, transport and civilian infrastructure.
Details on how any damages awarded by the commission would be paid still need to be worked out, but the source said Russian assets frozen by the EU were among the options being discussed.
The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the continent and is its oldest intergovernmental organisation.
