As Julian Assange is granted the right to appeal against an arrest warrant for an alleged rape, Matthew Steeples examines the high profile individuals who have visited him during his time at the Embassy of Ecuador in London
Yesterday, Sweden’s supreme court granted Julian Assange the right to appeal against an arrest warrant for an alleged rape.
Assange, who has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge since seeking asylum there in June 2012, has been wanted for questioning by Swedish prosecutors over allegations of rape dating back to 2010. Policing his presence there had cost British taxpayers “about £10 million” by February 2015.
During his ‘residence’ Julian Assange has had a number of high profile visitors. They have numbered the pop star Lady Gaga – who took tea and had dinner with the Wikileaks founder after lunching a perfume range at Harrods in October 2012 – and the Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson in September 2014. Others who have graced Assange with their presence are the former footballer Eric Cantona, the actor John Cusack, the filmmaker Romain Gavras, the producer Ken Loach, the journalist John Pilger, the director Oliver Stone and the fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Former supporter Jemima Khan, who generously gave and lost the £20,000 she generously put towards Assange’s bail, however, is one individual whose invitation was revoked after she was told he was “too busy” to respond to her questions about his legal position.
Assange may have an appeal on the cards now but his appeal certainly remains on the wane with the British public. It is time that this self-serving nuisance was sent on his merry way.
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