Post date: Jun 20, 2012 10:35:48 PM
"Yes I'm surprised, I mean, I didn't see this coming. When Julian stayed with me, he stayed with me for 13 months until Christmas last year, there was no discussion of this and I never thought it was a possibility. So, yes, I'm pretty surprised," he said.
He suggested Assange, whom he described as a "dissident" was trying to avoid a life prison sentence, or the death penalty in the United States.
Vaughan Smith, the founder of Frontline Club who put up Julian Assange's bail, says he's "surprised" by his friend's asylum claim but believes it's the WikiLeaks founder's attempt to avoid a life of imprisonment.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 20, 2012) (ITN) - Founder of the Frontline Club and former host to Julian Assange in the UK, Vaughan Smith, said on Wednesday (June 20) that he was surprised by the WikiLeaks chief's Ecuadorian asylum bid.
Julian Assange risks being thrown into a cell the moment he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London after breaching bail to avoid extradition to Sweden.
The Australian former computer hacker, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published secret U.S. diplomatic cables, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex crime allegations.