Assange embassy stay inspires BBC comedy
Assange says Wikileaks has high profile allies in the fight against the CIA. Photo: Getty
The BBC is making a new comedy inspired by WikiLeaks Australian founder Julian Assange’s stay in the Ecuadorian embassy.
The show, called Asylum, is described as “a satirical comedy about a government whistle-blower and a millionaire internet entrepreneur trapped together in a London embassy”.
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It was dreamt up by Kayvan Novak and his Fonejacker producer Tom Thostrup and is written by newcomers Peter Bowden and Thom Phipps.
Assange has been in the South American country’s central London embassy for more than two years after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faces sex-related allegations.
He has said he believes he will be extradited to the United States if he travels to Sweden.
The comedy is one of a string of shows created to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, which was one of the first attempts to limit the powers of the monarchy and develop a functioning legal system and parliamentary democracy.