Julian Assange rejects court translator not fluent in Australian
The WikiLeaks founder says they are "not good enough" and demands a replacement, leaving the hearing suspended.
Friday 26 October 2018 16:31, UK
The first hearing of a lawsuit by Julian Assange has been suspended after he complained his translator who speaks English was not fluent in Australian.
The lawsuit was suspended when the WikiLeaks founder, who was born in Australia, said he could not understand the Spanish translator and demanded a replacement.
Ecuadorean Judge Karina Martinez said that it was indispensable that Mr Assange testify, adding that the court had erred by appointing a Spanish translator who only spoke English - apparently under the impression that the Australian dialect is unintelligible to other anglophones.
He is launching a legal case against the Ecuadorian government, whose London embassy he has lived in for over six years on asylum grounds.
Mr Assange took refuge there after UK courts ordered his extradition to Sweden to face questions over a sexual molestation case.
The case has been dropped, but supporters have said Mr Assange fears leaving the embassy in case the US tries to extradite him.
WikiLeaks, which published US diplomatic and military secrets when Mr Assange ran the operation, faces a US grand jury investigation.
Mr Assange appeared by Skype on Friday for the lawsuit lodged in an Ecuadorian court claiming new asylum terms forcing him to pay for medical bills, phone calls and clean up after his pet cat violate his rights.
Ecuador says the rules are consistent with international asylum standards.
The country's foreign minister Jose Valnecia said earlier this week he was "frustrated" by the decision.
He vowed to no longer intervene on Mr Assange's behalf in diplomatic talks with the UK.