Michael Moore, Oliver Stone Urge Ecuador to Grant Julian Assange Asylum

LONDON -- Prominent Hollywood figures are among those who signed a letter in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request for political asylum in Ecuador.

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The petition, which a group called Just Foreign Policy delivered to the country's embassy here where Assange sought refuge last week, was signed by Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, Danny Glover, Bill Maher and author Naomi Wolf, among others, it said.

Just Foreign Policy said it delivered the letter with more than four thousand signatures from Americans urging Ecuardo's president Rafael Correa to approve Assange's asylum request.

Assange, who is Australian, walked into the Ecuadorian embassy last week in his latest attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden where he would face sex assault charges.

The letter argues that Assange's extradition to Sweden could lead to further extradition to the U.S. The U.S. government's "clear its hostility to WikiLeaks" would likely lead to the death penalty for Assange if he was charged and found guilty there, it says. "The 'crime' that he has committed is that of practicing journalism," the letter adds.

Just Foreign Policy says on its web site that it is "an independent and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to reforming U.S. foreign policy by mobilizing and organizing the broad majority of Americans who want a foreign policy based on diplomacy, law and cooperation."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai