0:00:02 > 0:00:07Sta Another asylum seeker the Government can't get rid of.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Julian Assange gets the official protection of Ecuador. To the
0:00:11 > 0:00:15consternation of Swedish and Britain. We will not allow will
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Assange safe passage out of the UK nor is there any legal basis for us
0:00:19 > 0:00:23to do so. We'll debate what is likely to
0:00:23 > 0:00:28happen to Julian Assange next. will definitely be appealing.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32man has been told he can't be helped to die. In Newsnight we will
0:00:32 > 0:00:36hear from his daughter, and from a patient who recovered from a
0:00:36 > 0:00:41similar situation. How did a miner strike leave at
0:00:41 > 0:00:46least seven people dead? And in Syria, Sue Lloyd Roberts
0:00:46 > 0:00:56finds out what happened to the people who were first to protest,
0:00:56 > 0:00:57
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Almost exactly two years ago today, Julian Assange had his heart set on
0:01:01 > 0:01:07Sweden, Sweden was the country for him. Mr Assange applied for a
0:01:07 > 0:01:14resident's permit to live and work there and hoped to create a base
0:01:14 > 0:01:20for WikiLeaks, in Sweden, because of the country's laws protecting
0:01:20 > 0:01:24whistle-blowers. Now he is settling on Ecuador. We witnessing the open
0:01:24 > 0:01:27the international diplomatic incident that WikiLeaks used to
0:01:27 > 0:01:30cause. Julian Assange once travelled the globe, championing
0:01:31 > 0:01:34freedom of information and apparently rewriting the rules of
0:01:34 > 0:01:38what could, and couldn't be kept secret.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42But now, his world has shrunk to two rooms at the back of the
0:01:42 > 0:01:48Ecuadorian embassy in London. But even this refuge may not be safe
0:01:49 > 0:01:56for the British Government has made clear, diplomatic immunity might be
0:01:56 > 0:02:01revokeed. The unprecedented letter from the UK authorities to the
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Ecuadorians, about the possibility of them going into the embassy to
0:02:06 > 0:02:11pick him up, that was the big surprise to me. And I'm still
0:02:11 > 0:02:20shocked about it because the itch case of that is so massive.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25If they wouldn't do it, that would actually, would jeopardise the
0:02:25 > 0:02:32concept of diplomacy forever. this morning, with supporters
0:02:32 > 0:02:37fearing police were about to storm the embarrassy, the counter culture
0:02:37 > 0:02:42arrived in Knightsbridge, ready to oppose the police and support
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Assange. The Ecuadorian Government meanwhile bridleed at the
0:02:46 > 0:02:53suggestion that British law might be used to newlyfy their
0:02:53 > 0:02:56sovereignty, and gave their guess to what he craved.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02TRANSLATION: The Ecuadorian Government loyal to the tradition
0:03:02 > 0:03:08to protect those who seek refuge with us, and in our diplomatic
0:03:08 > 0:03:12mission have decided to grant diplomatic asylum to Mr Assange.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17That news calmed the supporters outside, but of course annoyed the
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Foreign Office. Stay clear please. Had the British
0:03:21 > 0:03:25misplayed it. The Foreign Office played this exactly right. They've
0:03:25 > 0:03:30been talking behind the scenes, quiet diplomacy for two months to
0:03:30 > 0:03:34get the Ecuadorians to see sense on this. And there does come a moment
0:03:34 > 0:03:40when you have to say, these are the options and by the way we do have
0:03:40 > 0:03:45the act of Parliament, which gives us the right to raise diplomatic
0:03:45 > 0:03:50immunity, lift diplomatic immunity when it is abused. You need to take
0:03:50 > 0:03:54account of that oh Ecuadorian Government. To the protesters, this
0:03:54 > 0:03:58is about WikiLeaks and American vengeance, but none of the charges
0:03:58 > 0:04:02framed against him so far, relate to that. It is important to thunds
0:04:02 > 0:04:07is not about Mr Assange's activities at WikiLeaks, or the
0:04:08 > 0:04:12attitude of the United States, he is wanted in Sweden, to answer
0:04:13 > 0:04:17allegations of serious sexual offences. Since he's skipped bail
0:04:17 > 0:04:22in this country two months ago, Mr Assange would also face British
0:04:22 > 0:04:28charges, if he left the embarrassy, while the United States has yet to
0:04:28 > 0:04:33showity hand legally. With neither the UK or Ecuadorian governments
0:04:33 > 0:04:38likely to back down, will seems to be every chance of a prolonged
0:04:38 > 0:04:42standoff, from high-charging international lawyers might benefit.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48Meanwhile, Julian Assange may not be in prison, but he is certainly
0:04:48 > 0:04:52confined. So, Mr Assange will have plenty of time to gaze out at the
0:04:52 > 0:04:56expensive cars dropping off customers at Harrods, while the
0:04:56 > 0:05:00British Government bieds its time. Ecuadorian President has fallen
0:05:00 > 0:05:06into a trap of his own making. They have there, in the embassy, the
0:05:06 > 0:05:12sitting tenant from hell, who could be there, for another 25-30 years,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16who knows. The motto for us now is "just play it cool, be calm, and go
0:05:16 > 0:05:22back into behind the scenes talks with the Ecuadorians".
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And what of the longer term? The Brad Brad Brad the US soldiers
0:05:26 > 0:05:36accused of providing WikiLeaks with its information faces trial in
0:05:36 > 0:05:44September. The American authorities, have yet to indict Julian Assange
0:05:44 > 0:05:47on any charge. His argument he could face death in America, is a
0:05:47 > 0:05:50flawed note. Sweden will not extradite anybody to the US if
0:05:50 > 0:05:54there is a fear they will be subject to the death penalty so.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59That is not something that is a real risk in his case T won't
0:05:59 > 0:06:06happen. What is a greater risk is he will be subject today the same
0:06:06 > 0:06:10treatment as Bradley Manning, who is the WikiLeaks defendant held in
0:06:10 > 0:06:17unsavoury conditions ever since he was arrested. Ecuador has been
0:06:17 > 0:06:20criticised today, by both British and Swedish governments for
0:06:20 > 0:06:24obstructing the justice in two democracies. US pressure has yet to
0:06:24 > 0:06:30begin in earnest, and Julian Assange's supporters, were hardly
0:06:30 > 0:06:35opening the champagne tonight. Every person I met that knows how
0:06:35 > 0:06:39the US function, say they might not be the quickest, but they don't
0:06:39 > 0:06:45forget and don't forgive. The floor space of the embassy is a
0:06:45 > 0:06:50equivalent to a ten nas court. It's a small world to be couped up
0:06:50 > 0:06:55indefinitely. Supporters think he might escape, but where to? Exdor
0:06:55 > 0:07:03remains defiant for now, but who will predict how they'll behave if
0:07:03 > 0:07:08America turns up the heat. Vaughan Smith let Julian Assange stay in
0:07:08 > 0:07:12his house for year, and Roger Noriega was administer of state,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and Johan Pehrson is Chief Whip to the Swedish Liberal Party, a member
0:07:17 > 0:07:22of the Swedish Parliament justice committee. Vaughan Smith is it hard,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26having this man as a friend? It is challenging. I end up, trying to
0:07:26 > 0:07:34account for things on programmes like this, sometimes. He is very
0:07:34 > 0:07:38good company. I had him stay for 13 months. My family from
0:07:38 > 0:07:41recomfortable with that. He is engaging and as a journalist,
0:07:42 > 0:07:48curious about things and well informed. He stayed with more than
0:07:48 > 0:07:54a year, and put up �20,000 of his bail money and then he broke bail,
0:07:54 > 0:08:04is he an honest person? He strikes me as honest, one has to see what
0:08:04 > 0:08:08he's done is entering sideways to a legal process. To who extent he's
0:08:08 > 0:08:12broken bailiff yet to proceed. should have stayed at an address
0:08:12 > 0:08:16that he gave the police overnight, and he is not doing that any more?
0:08:16 > 0:08:21They know where he is. And breaking bail would, traditionally leaving
0:08:21 > 0:08:24the country or go into hiding. He's not done that. He has a right as
0:08:24 > 0:08:29individual to seek political asylum, most people acknowledge we all have
0:08:29 > 0:08:34a right to do that, if we're feeling persecuted and he does. The
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Ecuadorians, are the only people who have considered this whether he
0:08:38 > 0:08:43is actually somebody who is persecuted or not. They have
0:08:43 > 0:08:49concluded that he has been. What is the most convincing argument for
0:08:49 > 0:08:53him going to Sweden? I know Julian well enough to be convinced he
0:08:53 > 0:08:56believes his life or his liberty is threatened by such a thing. It is
0:08:56 > 0:09:02not for me to thing that is necessarily the case, I don't know.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06But I do know he believes that. And, I think that what you've got to
0:09:06 > 0:09:10look at, the Ecuadorians, have gone through processes to resolve this.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14They've invited the Swedes to come and interview there, and press a
0:09:14 > 0:09:17precedent for this. It reached the point in a Swedish legal thing that
0:09:17 > 0:09:23they are required to interview him, and then choose whether to charge
0:09:23 > 0:09:28him. But, they went to Serbia, to interview an alleged murderer, but
0:09:28 > 0:09:35haven't done that here. All right, Johan Pehrson why not do that?
0:09:35 > 0:09:43it is not for me to supervise the Swedish prosecutors, but I can say
0:09:44 > 0:09:49that he meets severe crime, the simple point is it will be easy for
0:09:49 > 0:09:53him to go to Sweden to meet our legal system and ask, to have, to
0:09:53 > 0:09:58answer these questions from the prosecutors, and then he might be
0:09:59 > 0:10:02released or prosecuted, and there could be a trial. But, he's
0:10:02 > 0:10:08obstructing this, and in this situation, it is very important to
0:10:08 > 0:10:11remember that there are might be witness of a crime here, to women.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16This is a man who hasn't been charged with anything, he is
0:10:16 > 0:10:20willing to be questioned if you go to him, you're saying that is
0:10:20 > 0:10:25impossible? I can't supervise the prosecutors, but I can say, that
0:10:26 > 0:10:29the things, how things have turned out now. I mean, of course, the
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Swedish prosecutors, need to come up with new ideas how they might be
0:10:33 > 0:10:39able to question him, because this could be a deadlock for a long time.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44He can be siting in this embassy for I don't know how long. Roger
0:10:44 > 0:10:51Noriega, do you share this view? Do you understand the view, that this
0:10:51 > 0:10:57is a man who feels persecuted? sure I do. But let's see that he's
0:10:57 > 0:11:02conspireed to make good his escape here. To, jump bail, in Britain,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and now he should be held accountable under British law and
0:11:05 > 0:11:15Swedish law. He conspired with the President who he interviewed in May
0:11:15 > 0:11:18
0:11:18 > 0:11:23of this year, on behalf of Russia Today and it was at that time
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Rafael Correa crushed the media, systematically in his own country,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30violated the independence of the courts, politiciseed the courts
0:11:30 > 0:11:36that do his bidding, so this is a rather strange bed fellow for
0:11:36 > 0:11:41Assange to be joining. It says a lot about him. And I hope that
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Correa is held for some scrutiny, his premeditated role in this
0:11:46 > 0:11:51process. You have a long list of complaints about Ecuador. If people
0:11:51 > 0:11:56look how Bradley Manning is treated, can you blame Julian Assange
0:11:56 > 0:12:02wanting to come to your country? Well, as far as I know, he doesn't
0:12:02 > 0:12:06face chargesness the United States. So, frankly, I think he wants to
0:12:06 > 0:12:12evade justice in Sweden, for the molestation and rape charges he has
0:12:12 > 0:12:16been accused of this there. That's his primary motive in my view.
0:12:16 > 0:12:23Johan Pehrson, the critical question about whether he might be
0:12:23 > 0:12:27extradited to the United States, is Sweden in a position to say not?
0:12:27 > 0:12:31have a law, the European Commission of human rights so we are
0:12:31 > 0:12:36prohibited to extradite anyone to a country where he can meet a death
0:12:36 > 0:12:41penalty so. I would say, it is a non-question. The important thing
0:12:41 > 0:12:47is that Julian Assange should meet these charges, answer the questions,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and then it would not be any question in Sweden any more. It is
0:12:52 > 0:12:58still porks mightn't it, there can be a guarantee he won't receive the
0:12:58 > 0:13:01death penalty but still extradited to the US snust Sweden has a
0:13:01 > 0:13:05independent system and we have a strong record on human rights. The
0:13:05 > 0:13:10only thing we can say, independent courts, where he might be tried, if
0:13:10 > 0:13:15he is prosecuted, we have not yet reached that level, but he has been
0:13:15 > 0:13:24asked to come to us, we have a system and European system, and UK
0:13:24 > 0:13:30legal system, and this man, turns now to exdor and I think they have
0:13:30 > 0:13:36a - Ecuador and they have a worse record on human rights than other.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I am concerned about Ecuadors record on this, and I'm not here to
0:13:39 > 0:13:45defend Ecuador's record on treatment on certain journalists.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50As a friend you must be anxious as he chooses his friends? Let stand
0:13:50 > 0:13:55back here, reporters without borders, every year does an index
0:13:55 > 0:14:02on freedom of speech, in that, Britain came 28th. America is
0:14:02 > 0:14:05falling and it is 48th. But Ecuador is 14 2nd. But we too, often
0:14:05 > 0:14:15present ourselves as only good in the world and the truth isn't the
0:14:15 > 0:14:18case. It is invasion for you, liberal democracy for you, torture
0:14:18 > 0:14:25for you, and something else for someone else. We immediate to get
0:14:25 > 0:14:29used to the idea that perhaps, we have dissidents within us, and
0:14:29 > 0:14:37within London someone has been given political asylum. We
0:14:37 > 0:14:42shouldn't be too sure. These are serious sexual charges he, sexual
0:14:42 > 0:14:47questions he faces? That's unclear. Obviously the Swedish thing is
0:14:47 > 0:14:52different. Swedish law on how they define rape is quite different. But,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I wouldn't like to see anybody escape justice. But I believe
0:14:56 > 0:15:01Julian Assange is seeking justice, not running from it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06What do you think will happen next? Do you think he's going to have to
0:15:06 > 0:15:13spend, time in the embarrassy? There could be a scenario he could
0:15:13 > 0:15:17be there for a long time. Is he good at tunneling? I don't think he
0:15:17 > 0:15:22can get out without the authorities agreeing to it. We can reflect on
0:15:22 > 0:15:26this a little bit and I don't think we have to be so angry and bitter
0:15:26 > 0:15:29about this. I think we have to look and see how this plays in a wider
0:15:29 > 0:15:33part of the world. You have to remember, Julian Assange, is
0:15:33 > 0:15:37popular in the rest of the world N Europe and the rest of the world,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41less so, because they have a battering in the press. India,
0:15:41 > 0:15:47there's 20 front pages on corruption, and I feel we need to
0:15:47 > 0:15:55be conscious about the perception in the wider world. Thank you very
0:15:55 > 0:16:00much. Tony Nicklinson, tells us his life is dull, miserable, demeaning,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03undignified and intolerable. Thanks to a stroke, seven years ago,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08he's able to communicate that misery, by blinking or by moving
0:16:09 > 0:16:12his head in a limited way. So limited is his ability to move,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Tony Nicklinson would be physically unable to end his miserable life
0:16:16 > 0:16:21himself. So, he asked the High Court in London to rule that a
0:16:21 > 0:16:24doctor could help him die without the fear of prosecution for murder.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29The court said it was moved, but only Parliament could make such a
0:16:29 > 0:16:34major change in the law. Mr Nicklinson is still able to cry,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39and he wept when he heard the judgment. Absolutely ivering has to
0:16:39 > 0:16:44be done for me, feeding me, scratching an itch, cleaninging my
0:16:44 > 0:16:49nose, moving me, cleaning my teeth, washing and everything I cannot do
0:16:49 > 0:16:54it. His case, said the judge was deeply moving A legal and ethical
0:16:54 > 0:17:01question at the most difficult kind. But today, Tony Nicklinson lost the
0:17:01 > 0:17:06latest round in what is a long, legal battle. Disappointed. You can
0:17:06 > 0:17:11see from Tony's reaction, he is heart broken. We always knew it was
0:17:11 > 0:17:14a big ask, but, we've always hoped that, you know the judges would see
0:17:14 > 0:17:19sense and quite plainly they haven't.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Mr Nicklinson, a 58-year-old father of two, was left almost completely
0:17:23 > 0:17:27paralysed after a stroke on a business trip, seven years ago. He
0:17:27 > 0:17:31now says the quality of his life is so poor, he wishes he'd never
0:17:31 > 0:17:36called for an am brilliance that day. This afternoon, he was asking
0:17:36 > 0:17:41the High Court to make a major change to the murder law in England
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and Wales. Mr Nicklinson's legal team was trying to use article
0:17:44 > 0:17:47eight of the European Convention on Human Rights to argue euthanasia
0:17:47 > 0:17:52should be a legally protected right. They wanted a guarantee that a
0:17:52 > 0:17:56doctor, here in this country, could end his life without the risk of
0:17:56 > 0:18:03prosecution. But, the judge today rejected those arguments, and
0:18:03 > 0:18:07dismissed the case of a second unnamed sufferer of locked in
0:18:07 > 0:18:10syndrome. He said a decision to allow the claims would have far-
0:18:10 > 0:18:14reaching consequences, it is not for the court to stkhrieed whether
0:18:14 > 0:18:17the law should be changed and what safeguards should be in place.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23Under our system of Government, these are matters for Parliament to
0:18:23 > 0:18:27decide. That decision was welcomeed, not just by pro-life groups you but
0:18:27 > 0:18:32disability charities and groups representing the medical profession.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36The problem here and reason why there is so much controversy, is
0:18:36 > 0:18:41balancing the tragic circumstances of people like Tony Nicklinson
0:18:41 > 0:18:45against the vastly greater number of people with, in his case, severe
0:18:45 > 0:18:49disability who find themselves, their lives valuable and yet
0:18:49 > 0:18:54threatened in the ethos created by our laws. Helping someone to kill
0:18:54 > 0:18:59themselves is legal, in a handful of countries. Most famously at the
0:18:59 > 0:19:06dig it's a clinic in Zurich, but also, in three US states and three
0:19:06 > 0:19:09EU countries, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In the UK,
0:19:09 > 0:19:14assisted suicide, careies 16 year jail sentence. Whether that death
0:19:14 > 0:19:17takes place here or abroad. But the law itself isn't standing still. A
0:19:17 > 0:19:27number of legal challenges have forced the authorities to change
0:19:27 > 0:19:28
0:19:28 > 0:19:34the way they deal with these cases. MS sufferer, Debbie Purdy went to
0:19:34 > 0:19:38court in 2008. She won the case, forcing the direct lor of public
0:19:38 > 0:19:43prosecution toss issue new guidance. If a family member or friends acts
0:19:43 > 0:19:48with compassion to help someone die, then the case should now be dropped.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52In the last few moments to two victims of locked in syndrome, have
0:19:52 > 0:19:58lost their High Court battles, for the right to end their lives,
0:19:58 > 0:20:05when... Three years after her day in court, Debbie Purdy is watching
0:20:05 > 0:20:12today's verdict from her bedroom. Her MS has progressed unable to
0:20:12 > 0:20:17make her stand, move or write. doesn't want to go to Switzerland,
0:20:17 > 0:20:22and he doesn't have the drugs that will be fatal, or set things up to
0:20:22 > 0:20:26be able to take them. He needs help and support by somebody who knows
0:20:26 > 0:20:30what they're doing. She supports Tony Nicklinson's right to end his
0:20:31 > 0:20:37own life on his own terms. And she wants MPs to step in, with a new
0:20:37 > 0:20:43law to clarify the situation. What we need is a politicians to
0:20:43 > 0:20:51say, not how do we tweak an existing law to be not too bad, but
0:20:51 > 0:20:55rather, what do we need in the 21st century, to make sure that somebody
0:20:55 > 0:21:00like Tony, doesn't have to suffer unnecessarily.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04But, any new law on assisted suicide looks unlikely at the
0:21:04 > 0:21:10moment, with all politicians opposed. Instead the Nicklinson
0:21:10 > 0:21:18family say they'll take today's verdict to the Court of Appeal.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Lauren, Nicklinson, Tony is your dad, he seems upset, how is sne
0:21:22 > 0:21:26He's devastated. Our legal team helped so far, but you can't help
0:21:26 > 0:21:31to get your hopes up, and we're all disappointed. We know the judges
0:21:32 > 0:21:36had a hard decision to make, but we're just sad they decide today go
0:21:36 > 0:21:39against us. We'll appeal, this isn't the end, we believe in what
0:21:39 > 0:21:42we're doing. Do you accept what the court was saying, had the court
0:21:42 > 0:21:46gone your way, it would be a big change in the law, and that's not
0:21:46 > 0:21:51the role of judges to do that, it must be Parliament? They say one
0:21:51 > 0:21:55thing, we argue the other. Our legal team, argue the opposite and
0:21:55 > 0:21:59we choose to follow them and believe what they say. We trust
0:21:59 > 0:22:04what they're doing. But, we know it is a really difficult, we've a big
0:22:04 > 0:22:09thing what we're doing, and asking a lot. But there has to be some way
0:22:09 > 0:22:13to do it. There has to be, we refuse there isn't. What is it like
0:22:13 > 0:22:19having Tony as a dad? That's a difficult question. The dad before
0:22:19 > 0:22:21all of this, was amazing, and me and my sister talk about dad as two
0:22:22 > 0:22:26different people. Whether it is right and wrong I don't know,
0:22:26 > 0:22:33really loud and hands on, he was a fantastic dad. Now we haven't got a
0:22:33 > 0:22:36relationship with him, because so much of what makes that father/
0:22:36 > 0:22:43daughter lies, is physical dis, it is down to the individual
0:22:43 > 0:22:46relationship. What me and dad would enjoy doing together we can't enjoy
0:22:47 > 0:22:51any more, like rugby, I don't know what he sounds like, I haven't
0:22:51 > 0:22:55heard his voice in seven years. What are his ofpgss, you will carry
0:22:55 > 0:23:00on with the legal process, but maybe perhaps starving to death?
0:23:00 > 0:23:04We're going to appeal and take this as far as we can. If we get to the
0:23:04 > 0:23:08stage where we can't take it further, and told no, he is
0:23:08 > 0:23:11considering starving himself. Because for him. Could you watch
0:23:11 > 0:23:16that happen? It won't be my decision, if that's what he wants,
0:23:16 > 0:23:22that's what we'll do t he would rather three months of the physical
0:23:22 > 0:23:27anguish and mental anguish of starving hix, rather than living 30
0:23:27 > 0:23:33years locked-in. What about you, your dad wants to die, if it was
0:23:33 > 0:23:38down to you, would you rather him alive? I would rather him walking
0:23:38 > 0:23:43and talking. Alive and dead? necessarily, no, because it is so
0:23:43 > 0:23:46painful, to see someone you love hurt every day and unable to do
0:23:46 > 0:23:51anything about it. When he dies, it will be more risk, but we will
0:23:51 > 0:23:56grieve and be OK, I know we will be. But for dad to face 30 years like
0:23:56 > 0:24:01this, that's sun enable. And I think in many ways, it will hurt
0:24:01 > 0:24:06less when he dies, rather than see him suffer. Given your concern
0:24:06 > 0:24:12about the suffering, have you and the family discussed about helping
0:24:12 > 0:24:17him die? It is not an option. No way, dad will let mum risk going to
0:24:17 > 0:24:21prison. At all, he would rather do 30 years, and know that his
0:24:21 > 0:24:25suffering would end but mum could spend the rest of her life, in
0:24:26 > 0:24:31prison,not an option for us. What about you? No. I'm not strong
0:24:31 > 0:24:38enough to do that. No way would I let my sister do that. Maybe we're
0:24:39 > 0:24:43selfish, I don't know but... Stay with us, thank you very much. Now,
0:24:43 > 0:24:49you are in a position, rather than most people, to understand, from a
0:24:49 > 0:24:57personal experience what he's going through. You had a stroke, and were
0:24:57 > 0:25:05severely incapacitated tell me about that? His a brain stem stroke.
0:25:05 > 0:25:13And I was unconscious for several days, and when I came out of it, I
0:25:13 > 0:25:17had a problem and because of my background, and my nature, I
0:25:17 > 0:25:22started a problem, set an objective, which at that time was to breathe,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27and I proceeded to achieve it. Which was to concentrate on the die
0:25:27 > 0:25:32fram. The problem was you couldn't move? You couldn't communicate in
0:25:32 > 0:25:40any way? No. And even thinking at that time was exhausting. How long
0:25:41 > 0:25:48did it take you to get from that state, to the state you're in now?
0:25:48 > 0:25:56Well, I've been progressing for years, every little bit all the
0:25:56 > 0:26:03time. And I was it hospital for six months and I could walk on sticks
0:26:03 > 0:26:06just about, when I left. And I went into rehab unit, for another six
0:26:07 > 0:26:10months. And I improved a little bit while I was there. When you see,
0:26:10 > 0:26:18Tony Nicklinson and you hear his arguments and you've heard his
0:26:18 > 0:26:23daughter speak about his situation, what do you think? I feel I can
0:26:23 > 0:26:28understand his feeling about being totally paralysed for seven years,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32I should imagine it is terrible. But, as I was saying to his
0:26:33 > 0:26:38daughter earlier, I would like to try and help him develop a new
0:26:38 > 0:26:43brain path in the same way I did. Because, there is capacity in the
0:26:43 > 0:26:49brain, and even though he's had a situation for seven years, there is
0:26:49 > 0:26:53still that capacity in the brain. Stay with us, please, I want to
0:26:53 > 0:26:58turn to you, Dr Andrew Ferguson from Care Not Killing. How do you
0:26:58 > 0:27:02view what's happened to Tony Nicklinson today? Well let me make
0:27:02 > 0:27:07the point first, every clinical situation is different. I don't
0:27:07 > 0:27:12think we can compare Graham with Tony, I don't think there will be
0:27:12 > 0:27:17clinical improvement in Tony's case, I've seen reports and so on. I
0:27:17 > 0:27:22don't think today's verdict was a surprise for either side. Tragic
0:27:22 > 0:27:25though the situation is for Tony, we need to look at the big picture,
0:27:25 > 0:27:30Care Not Killing exists partly to campaign against a change in the
0:27:31 > 0:27:34law and encourage resources in careing, and encourage a change in
0:27:34 > 0:27:38our attitudes to people with disabilities. All the major
0:27:38 > 0:27:44disability rights groups are represented within us, disabled
0:27:44 > 0:27:49people at large, see a change in the law as a very real threat.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52it not possible, for our finest parliamentarians with the help of
0:27:52 > 0:27:57the finest lawyers to draw up a bill that would make Tony
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Nicklinson and the people in his situation happy, but also give the
0:28:01 > 0:28:04protection you want to people who want to make sure they're not
0:28:04 > 0:28:09bumped off against their will? fine parliamentarians in the
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Scottish Parliament looked at this extensively in 2010, and in
0:28:15 > 0:28:18November on that year, they voted by 85-16 against changing the law.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23And that happens when law-makers and those with real responsibility
0:28:23 > 0:28:28look at this issue in the round. It is reas well to talk about Holland
0:28:28 > 0:28:31but most countries haven't legislated for that, half a dozen
0:28:31 > 0:28:37countries have denied euthanasia legislation in the last couple of
0:28:37 > 0:28:42years. Let's talk about Tony, are we saying, that he has to carry on
0:28:42 > 0:28:47suffering in a way he doesn't want to, he wants to die, for if you
0:28:47 > 0:28:53like the greater public good? That's one way of putting it. My
0:28:53 > 0:28:57own hope is. You can put it a nicer way, but isn't that where we're at?
0:28:57 > 0:29:00We are at that point because we can't just look at Tony alone or
0:29:00 > 0:29:07his family, we have to look at other people with his condition.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12There's a study from France, 65 patients with lock-ined syndrome,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16British Medical Journal, 72% were happy with life and 7% of them
0:29:16 > 0:29:20seriously thought about suicide. I'm not blaming Tony when I say
0:29:20 > 0:29:25that, he is who he is, but most people come to terms with these
0:29:26 > 0:29:30things. What do you say to those arguments? We say each to their own.
0:29:30 > 0:29:36Research looks at samples, how long ago was it, were there religious
0:29:36 > 0:29:42attitudes as part of that, because if there was, we're an atheist
0:29:42 > 0:29:46family and we don't like any state or religious attitude put upon us,
0:29:46 > 0:29:51research is research, you can poke holes in most research. Dad wants
0:29:51 > 0:29:53to die, again, we are speaking on behalf of him, and not on the
0:29:53 > 0:29:57behalf of the disabled community. There are others who want this as
0:29:57 > 0:30:02well, we know that. I really struggle to believe there isn't, in
0:30:02 > 0:30:06the country we are in, such an advanced country, there is not
0:30:06 > 0:30:09something that can be done to make it possible for dad. I really
0:30:09 > 0:30:15struggle. Thank you. Thank you all very much.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19In South Africa, police have opened fire on workers who were on strike
0:30:19 > 0:30:29from a platinum mine. Video footage from the incident has caused quite
0:30:29 > 0:30:51
0:30:51 > 0:30:59The BBC's Milton Nkosi has been telling me what happened?
0:30:59 > 0:31:09miners who belong to a newly formed militant union had been demanding a
0:31:09 > 0:31:12pay hike from the mine amendment which is the plaitium mines. The
0:31:13 > 0:31:17rival National Union of Mineworkers, which is a long-standing union of
0:31:17 > 0:31:26miners here, were separate from them. They are not taking part in
0:31:26 > 0:31:31this paid dispute. And these miners were acknowledge mow, were carrying
0:31:31 > 0:31:36sticks and machetes and some firearms, and the police were
0:31:36 > 0:31:41holding a line between miners and operation area of the mine, and
0:31:41 > 0:31:45that's when the shooting began. But this actually began a week before.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50Last week, there was violence, ten people were killed including two
0:31:50 > 0:31:55policemen. Sthool so what's been reaction to this violence and these
0:31:55 > 0:32:05death? The DS, Democratic Alliance, official opposition here have been
0:32:05 > 0:32:06
0:32:06 > 0:32:09saying that this is now needs to be called the mine mine inquiry. And
0:32:09 > 0:32:14the national police commissioner has driven through the area and
0:32:14 > 0:32:20hopefully will get more details, and a proper investigation as to
0:32:20 > 0:32:24what exactly led to this killing, this afternoon. Milton Nkosi thank
0:32:24 > 0:32:28you. The narrative in Syria, these days is pretty familiar to us.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33We've seen the violence, we heard the conflicting accounts of what's
0:32:33 > 0:32:37is going on and watched people flee to safety across the border. What
0:32:37 > 0:32:40must all this look like to the people, who 18 months ago were
0:32:40 > 0:32:47first to call a demonstration on the streets of Damascus. Sue Lloyd
0:32:47 > 0:32:54Roberts has been hearing about three of them. Damascus, January,
0:32:54 > 0:32:592011. A group of young Syrians, posed an invitation on Facebook, to
0:32:59 > 0:33:04their friends to have a demonstration outside the Egyptian
0:33:05 > 0:33:11embassy. Matar was one of them. Tunisians had been freed, Egyptians
0:33:11 > 0:33:16were on their way, we thought it was our turn to be tree too.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20Only Syrian-friendly Russian TV recorded the gathering. Which
0:33:20 > 0:33:28included Muslims and Christians. They had aeed declared their
0:33:28 > 0:33:33support for the demonstrators in Cairo, but then, they went too far.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39We sat we chanted and lit candles, we sang the National Anthem and
0:33:39 > 0:33:46other similar songs, and then, maybe less than an hour later, one
0:33:46 > 0:33:50of them, more enthusiastic parts of the crowds started chanting the
0:33:50 > 0:33:55wind of change has blown, and that is when the security approached us
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and said you have to stop now and you have to leave.
0:33:59 > 0:34:06Some were arrested, cameras seized and told criticism of the Syrian
0:34:06 > 0:34:13Government would noten tolerated. It was a warning of what was to
0:34:13 > 0:34:17come. I've spent the last few weeks tracking those who took part in the
0:34:17 > 0:34:22demonstration, post are in Syria, in hiding, filming when they can,
0:34:22 > 0:34:28and fighting. Some are dead and others have threed to watch the
0:34:28 > 0:34:35drama taking place in their country, from abroad. I started my search in
0:34:35 > 0:34:43Germany. Where a charity have given a mayor refuge after he fled from
0:34:43 > 0:34:49He now lives in a village near cologne, he explained after the
0:34:49 > 0:34:54first demonstration he attended many more, and the Military Police
0:34:54 > 0:35:00came looking for him. He went into hiding, and they arrested his
0:35:00 > 0:35:05father to get at him. Only when he left the country his father was
0:35:05 > 0:35:10released. TRANSLATION: When I came to Europe,
0:35:10 > 0:35:16I was amazed by the way people live here. I realised we are living in
0:35:16 > 0:35:24hell in Syria. We dream of getting rid of this tyrant, President al-
0:35:24 > 0:35:29Assad, most people have not had his father or brother arrested. He is
0:35:29 > 0:35:35suffocating us. Exsield Syrians gather in for lorn
0:35:35 > 0:35:40groups all over Europe. Here Amer Matar's friends includes Sunnis,
0:35:40 > 0:35:48and Kurds. They speak of their ideaism when united they believe
0:35:48 > 0:35:54they could use peaceful protest to bring about change. Amer Matar
0:35:54 > 0:35:58blames the regime for militaryising their struggle. It was the Houla
0:35:58 > 0:36:03massacre in May that convinced him a peaceful, political solution was
0:36:03 > 0:36:10no longer possible. More than a hundred people were killed, mainly
0:36:10 > 0:36:20women and children. The UN blamed the Syrian army, and the regime's
0:36:20 > 0:36:22thugs, the notorious Shab iha. Who is responsible for the deaths
0:36:22 > 0:36:26recorded. TRANSLATION: You don't need to look
0:36:26 > 0:36:30at the pictures of the massacre at Houla, you just need to think of
0:36:30 > 0:36:35the numbers of dead, just the numbers make us say, that enough is
0:36:35 > 0:36:45enough. We have no option, the only way to get rid of these monsters is
0:36:45 > 0:36:47
0:36:47 > 0:36:53I went to America, to a university in New York state to follow the
0:36:54 > 0:37:02story of another of the group who organised that first demonstration.
0:37:02 > 0:37:08At the end of last year, a Christian from Damascus, signed up
0:37:08 > 0:37:17along with fellow students, Daniel, from New Mexico, LAna and Valerie
0:37:17 > 0:37:23from Lebanon to hon his skills as a film maker. He had been making a
0:37:23 > 0:37:27documentary back home on how conflict is affecting the children
0:37:27 > 0:37:37of Homs. How orphans whose parents had been killed in the uprising
0:37:37 > 0:37:44
0:37:44 > 0:37:54Because of his work, he was arrested several times and fled
0:37:54 > 0:37:55
0:37:55 > 0:38:00abroad, where he was awarded a full bright skol harship in New York. So
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Lana Hijazi was asked to study here ala celebrated university all
0:38:05 > 0:38:10expenses paid and chance to escape his country, which was on the brink
0:38:10 > 0:38:16of civil war. But, his friends explain, he couldn't stay.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Having witnessed what he has witnessed, I think it was just
0:38:20 > 0:38:23unsettling to him that people can live life calmly and quiet. Do you
0:38:23 > 0:38:28think he was right to go back sthifplt for him it was out of the
0:38:28 > 0:38:33question to live his life normally, and wake up, have his coffee and go
0:38:33 > 0:38:39to class, while other people are struggling and dying it. This is
0:38:39 > 0:38:44how he saw it, it may be wrong or right. I don't think it is guilt
0:38:44 > 0:38:48but love. I have the same situation in my country, in a different way.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52We always say the world is watching what is happening and not doing
0:38:52 > 0:39:01anything. So we didn't want to be part of the world, who is watching
0:39:01 > 0:39:06and not doing anything. He went back to Homs to make
0:39:06 > 0:39:16another film. Describing the reality of living in a city
0:39:16 > 0:39:31
0:39:31 > 0:39:36bombarded by heavy weapons now for With snipers on the rooftops, he
0:39:36 > 0:39:44shows how hard it is for people to get just from one side of a street
0:39:44 > 0:39:53to the other. It is him, we can see him, and hear him breathing. I can
0:39:53 > 0:39:58imagine the fear he was feeling. did make it to the other side. But
0:39:58 > 0:40:08was later killed by a Siran Government army on the house he was
0:40:08 > 0:40:15
0:40:15 > 0:40:19sheltering in. He was 28. - Syrian. Those of his friends still in the
0:40:20 > 0:40:26country, came together outside his local church in Damascus to mourn
0:40:26 > 0:40:30the death of a young film maker. ? The priest tried to hold a
0:40:30 > 0:40:35service for him in the church, but the authorities refused.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39In his funeral the ones who prayed from him are from different
0:40:39 > 0:40:44religions, it doesn't matter if you pray in a mosque or church for him.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48It was so touching to see Syria this way, because this is why
0:40:48 > 0:40:53they're dying, a better life, not a country shredded into parts and
0:40:53 > 0:41:03religions. But it was sad because he deserves more than this, in his
0:41:03 > 0:41:07
0:41:07 > 0:41:16death and funeral and he couldn't The third of our pioneer
0:41:16 > 0:41:23demonstrators still lives in Syria. Mia travelled from Damascus to
0:41:23 > 0:41:29across the border this Lebanon. We met in a tourist site which is now
0:41:29 > 0:41:34deserted, and we hoped without the Syrian spies who are found this
0:41:35 > 0:41:40more crowded areas. Thinking back to that first demonstration, she
0:41:40 > 0:41:45can't believe how quickly her country disintergrated? We were
0:41:45 > 0:41:48hoping for something similar to the way the Egyptian his organised
0:41:48 > 0:41:54their revolution. There would be a civil movement, similar to that
0:41:54 > 0:42:00that took place in Egypt and we would be able to organise on the
0:42:00 > 0:42:04long-run, something similar. But we were thinking in terms of few years,
0:42:04 > 0:42:09the more optimistic people were thinking a few months, no-one
0:42:09 > 0:42:14thought it was a few weeks time. We were overwhelmed wit violent
0:42:14 > 0:42:21reaction of the regime. She doesn't show her face and uses a false name.
0:42:21 > 0:42:30Because she too is a film maker, trying to document the human
0:42:30 > 0:42:38tragedy. Where is your father, she asks this boy is this In prison,
0:42:38 > 0:42:44why? I don't know, he says. Mia had been arrested like all those who
0:42:45 > 0:42:54organised the first demonstration. I think almost all of us have been
0:42:54 > 0:43:01arrested at some point and released. Including the other girls, if not
0:43:01 > 0:43:05once, then several tiles. You never know when you need to flee. You're
0:43:05 > 0:43:10always ready, your papers are ready, and you expect that one day or the
0:43:10 > 0:43:20other the phone call will come or knock on the door will come and
0:43:20 > 0:43:28you'll have to flee. Now she seeing the fighting at home, the Army are
0:43:28 > 0:43:30attacking the suburbs of Damascus. Too many helicopters going around,
0:43:30 > 0:43:35random shots, snipers over buildings, shooting everything that
0:43:35 > 0:43:40moved. I zpt notice when the shot came in, because the window was
0:43:40 > 0:43:45open, so there was no broken glass, and there was so much random
0:43:45 > 0:43:49shooting and bombing, the sounds were insane, coy not tell that it
0:43:50 > 0:43:59was in my bedroom. I woke up the next morning and realised there was
0:43:59 > 0:44:04a hole in the wall above my bed. After our interview, Mia returned
0:44:04 > 0:44:09to Damascus to work, but with the fear of arrest or being killed.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13Before she left I asked her what she would wish for her country?
0:44:13 > 0:44:20would like to wake up tomorrow and not find a sing of one of them.
0:44:20 > 0:44:27That - single one of them, that would be perfect. Back at the
0:44:27 > 0:44:32university, they're planning a memorial for next month. Meanwhile
0:44:32 > 0:44:37they watch events in Syria, in despair. What is happening is
0:44:37 > 0:44:45people crushed silently, without anybody being able to do anything
0:44:45 > 0:44:49for them h And Amer? He says he's going back.
0:44:49 > 0:44:57TRANSLATION: I am definitely ready to die and my friends and many of
0:44:57 > 0:45:04the Syrian people are prepared to risk death just to see Saaad to go.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09I am definitely ready to die for this. Bf we go the publishers of
0:45:09 > 0:45:12The Dandy, confirmed today its days in print are numbered. It has an
0:45:12 > 0:45:17on-line presence but the final edition will be in December. Let's
0:45:17 > 0:45:20have a look at the final edition, and desperate Dan is on the front
0:45:20 > 0:45:29page enjoying a holiday, though in the strip itself, his head is eaten
0:45:29 > 0:45:35bay shark. On the front. A chance bay shark. On the front. A chance
0:45:35 > 0:45:39to win a ride and bouncey castle.. Now to the newspapers. Guardian
0:45:39 > 0:45:46goes with Julian Assange story, various people on the front
0:45:46 > 0:45:54claiming to be Julian Assange. The Times, also has the Assange story
0:45:54 > 0:46:00and those A-level results, Tom Daily doing well. In the Telegraph,
0:46:00 > 0:46:08no picture of young women jumping up and down because of the A-level
0:46:08 > 0:46:14results but Tom Daly. Gove overall advice from his independent experts
0:46:14 > 0:46:19to force through the sale of the school playing fields. And the
0:46:19 > 0:46:24Independent, well its front page is one of our stories tonight, the
0:46:24 > 0:46:32headline "a fate worse than death" moment Tony Nicklinson heard that