EDITORS' NOTE Today we bring an interview from the Ecuadorian embassy in London with Julian Assange. The Wikileaks founder tells University of Sydney political scientist John Keane about his plans to run for the Australian Senate, the Swedish rape case, recent criticism from Jemima Khan and confinement in the embassy. "The party will combine a small, centralised leadership with maximum grass roots involvement and support," he says. "By relying on decentralised Wikipedia-style, user-generated structures, it will do without apparatchiks. The party will be incorruptible and ideologically united." Misha Ketchell ------ 18 February 2013, 6.32am AEST Lunch and dinner with Julian Assange, in prison Everybody warned this would be no ordinary invitation, and they were right. Three hundred metres from Knightsbridge underground station, just a stone's throw from fashion-conscious Harrods, I suddenly encounter a wall of police. I try to remember my instructions. Look straight ahead. Avoid eye contact. If asked my name, reply with a question. Ask who authorised them to ask. Climb the stone steps. Act purposefully. Appear to know exactly where you're heading. I don't. Through a set of double doors, I'm confronted by more police officers, this time armed, with meaner faces. "Good afternoon", I say politely, as I edge towards the receptionist. "I've an appointment at the Ecuador embassy. Am I at the correct address?" "Ring the brass bell", grunts the bored-looking man squatting at his desk. A few minutes later, after some confusion about whether or not my name's on the appointments list, I'm ushered inside. I'm greeted by the personal assistant of the most wanted man in the world. "Julian is taking a call," says the well-spoken and debonair young man in black-rimmed glasses. "I'm terribly sorry. Please do have a seat. Would you like some tea, or coffee, or polonium, perhaps?" There's a smile, but it's pretty faint. I know I've reached my destination: a prison with wit and purpose. [...] Continua qui: https://theconversation.edu.au/lunch-and-dinner-with-julian-assange-in-priso...