Erstellt am: 20. 6. 2012 - 14:13 Uhr

Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador

Reality Check: Wikileaks, Pakistan to choose new Prime Minister, World Refugee Day

Julian Assange has fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and is believed to be seeking asylum there. It's a curious twist in the saga of Julian Assange, and one that could back-fire on him in many ways.

By staying at the Embassy and not returning to his declared address last night, he has broken the conditions of his bail, which is, in itself, a criminal offence. If he hadn't done anything wrong before, he certainly has now. He also risks souring his supporters and sympathetic public opinion, as the 200,000 pounds bail which was put up for him by friends and celebrities is now forfeit.

An embassy is technically under the governanance of the country is represents, and subject to special conditions. While in the embassy, Assange is effectively in Ecuador, and beyond the reach of the British legal system unless the ambassador invites the police in to arrest him. Ecuador says it is "studying and analysing" Assange's asylum request, but that is not as straightforward as one might imagine. Under Ecuadorian law, he could only be granted asylum if he could prove he was being persecuted in his home country of Australia which, to date, does not appear to be the case. Although Assange and Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, are known to get on well - it will probably take more than that to secure asylum.

If Ecuador refuses him asylum and puts him back on the streets of London to be arrested, he last hope would be the European court of Human Rights - but he only has until June 28th for this to happen. It seems almost certain he will end up being extradited to Sweden - at which point, the whole circus could start all over again.

Media analyst at the London School of Economics, Charlie Beckett, looks at what has happened in the meantime to Wikileaks.

Pakistan to appoint new Prime Minister

Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday disqualified Yousuf Raza Gilani from holding the office of Prime Minister. His party, the Pakistan People's Party, is meeting today to discuss a replacement. Analyst Shaun Gregory looks at the importance and implications of the ruling.

WORLD REFUGEE DAY

• Riem Higazi meets two refugees in Austria and hears about their experiences in trying to establish a new home.

• A refugee from Nigeria talks about his journey from his homland to Austria and the obstacles he faced as an asylum seeker.

• Boats4People: the project to trace the journey made by refugees from Lampedusa to northern Italy.

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.