(Newser)
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Julian Assange has a new representative in Ecuador: his own mother. Christine Assange is in Quito to seek asylum for her son, who is currently in the country's London embassy, and she's set to meet with officials today, CNN reports. Extradition to the US could mean the death penalty or "many years in prison with torture as they are doing now with Bradley Manning," she says. "If they did that to a US citizen, they would have fewer qualms about doing it to a foreigner."
"Surely, the president and his staff will make the best decision," she says. Ecuador plans to "make its own, independent decision," President Rafael Correa said this month, noting that the possibility of the death penalty for a "political crime" could be enough to qualify Assange for asylum. "We have to see whether everything that's being done in the case of Julian Assange is compatible with ... the constitution and our view of human rights, political rights, and due process."
