阿桑奇将离开厄瓜多尔驻英使馆

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has confirmed he will “soon” be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has sought refuge from prosecution for more than two years, and admitted his confinement had affected his health.

“维基解密”网站(Wikileaks)的创始人朱利安•阿桑奇(Julian Assange)证实他将“很快”离开伦敦的厄瓜多尔驻英使馆。为了躲避公诉，他已在该使馆寻求庇护2年多，他承认幽闭生活已经影响他的健康。

“I can confirm I am leaving the embassy soon, but perhaps not for the reasons that the Murdoch press and Sky News are saying at the moment,” Mr Assange said at a news conference inside the embassy yesterday.

“我可以证实我将很快离开使馆，但或许不是默多克(Murdoch)旗下报纸以及天空新闻电视台(Sky News)现在报道的原因，”阿桑奇昨日在使馆内的一个新闻发布会上说。

Reports in the British media had stated that the 43-year-old Australian was suffering from an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and a chronic cough.

英国媒体的报道称这位43岁的澳大利亚人罹患心律不齐、高血压和慢性咳嗽。

When asked to clarify whether his health was a factor in his decision, he said: “In relation to my health, as you can imagine, being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years, and in this embassy for two years, has [had an effect].”

在被要求澄清他的健康是否影响了这个决定时，阿桑奇说：“关于我的健康，就像你们可以想象的，未经起诉就以种种方式被扣押在这个国家4年，在这个使馆呆了2年，有（影响）。”

Mr Assange has been holed up in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges, which he denies. He fears this could lead to his extradition to the US, where he could face trial for divulging diplomatic and military information via his website.

自2012年6月起，阿桑奇一直藏身于厄瓜多尔驻英使馆，以躲避以性侵指控的罪名被引渡到瑞典；他否认性侵指控。他担心这会导致他进而被引渡到美国，他可能在美国因通过自己的网站泄露外交和军事信息而面临审判。

Although he was granted political asylum by the government of President Rafael Correa more than two years ago, the UK refused to grant him safe passage, meaning he would be arrested on stepping out of the embassy in west London.

尽管厄瓜多尔总统拉斐尔•科雷亚(Rafael Correa)在两年多前就授予阿桑奇政治庇护，但英国方面拒绝提供安全通道，这意味着一旦他踏出位于伦敦西区的使馆就会遭到逮捕。

Mr Assange expressed frustration about his confinement and the slow pace of legal and diplomatic negotiations since he entered the embassy, but he refused to give any details about when he might be leaving or why.

阿桑奇对自己的幽闭生活以及自他进入使馆后法律和外交方面的谈判进展缓慢表示失望，但他拒绝就离开时间和原因提供任何细节。

Mr Assange claimed the cost of the two-year police operation to guard the embassy had reached £7m.

他宣称2年间警方花费了700万英镑盯住使馆。

Sitting alongside Mr Assange at the press conference, Ricardo Patiño, Ecuador’s foreign minister, stressed that the Australian’s “human rights should be respected”.

厄瓜多尔外长里卡多•帕蒂尼奥(Ricardo Patiño)在新闻发布会上坐在阿桑奇身边，他强调阿桑奇的“人权应该得到尊重”。

He added: “We will be continuing our work to find a friendly and diplomatic solution.”

他补充说：“我们会继续进行我们的工作，找到一个友好的外交解决方案。”

However, lawyers suggested Mr Assange’s legal options were limited. Michael Caplan QC, partner at Kingsley Napley who practises in domestic, international, criminal and regulatory law, said police would have to arrest Mr Assange if he left the embassy and arrange for his extradition to Sweden.

然而，律师们提出，阿桑奇的法律选项有限。承接国内、国际、刑事以及监管法律案件的英国律师事务所Kingsley Napley合伙人、御用大律师迈克尔•卡普兰(Michael Caplan QC)表示，一旦阿桑奇离开使馆，警方将必须逮捕他，并安排将其引渡到瑞典。