Julian Assange must eventually leave London embassy, says Ecuador
Written by News on 27/07/2018
Wikileaks fugitive Julian Assange must eventually leave Ecuador’s embassy in London, the country’s president has said.
Lenin Moreno said he had spoken to the British government about the situation, amid speculation that the long-running stand-off is coming to a head.
A UK government spokesman said that while discussions were ongoing, the matter was not talked about during Mr Moreno’s latest UK visit.
Australian-born Assange has been holed up in the country’s embassy since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, which authorities have since dropped.
British police still want to arrest him for breaching bail conditions.
Assange fears he will be extradited to the US if he leaves the embassy in Knightsbridge.
In 2010, WikiLeaks published secret US military documents and diplomatic cables detailing alleged war crimes and human rights violations.
In March, Ecuador’s government cut off Assange’s internet connection after he complained about the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician on social media, despite promising not to interfere in other countries’ affairs while seeking refuge in the embassy.
Last December, Assange was made an Ecuadorean citizen – and the country unsuccessfully tried to register him as a diplomat with immunity as part of its efforts to have him leave the embassy without risk of being detained.
A briefing to MPs last month from one of Assange’s legal team said the UK could resolve the impasse by providing a diplomatic assurance against US extradition.
They heard claims that Assange had been living under “harsh” conditions, with no access to sunlight or outdoor exercise, but things have worsened “dramatically” since his communications were cut and that the “situation is clearly untenable”.
(c) Sky News 2018: Julian Assange must eventually leave London embassy, says Ecuador
