Julian Assange arrested in London after Ecuador withdraws asylum

London Metropolitan police has arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London. He has been holed up in the Embassy of Ecuador in London since 2012 in order to avoid a warrant against him. Ecuador withdrew Assange’s diplomatic asylum earlier today leading to his arrest.

In a video statement, Ecuador president Lenín Moreno announced the withdrawal of Assange’s asylum.

“Today, I announce that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially, the trangression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable,” Moreno said.

“Ecuador sovereignly has decided to terminate the diplomatic asylum granted to Mr. Assange in 2012,” he added.

In particular, Moreno highlights the leak of Vatican documents in January 2019. According to Moreno, this proves that Assange is still linked with WikiLeaks — he thinks that Assange interferes in internal affairs of other states.

“The patience of Ecuador has reached its limit on the behavior of Mr. Assange: He installed electronic and distortion equipment not allowed. He blocked the security cameras of the Ecuadorian Mission in London. He has confronted and mistreated guards. He had accessed the security files of our Embassy without permission. He claimed to be isolated and rejected the internet connection offered by the embassy, and yet he had a mobile phone with which he communicated with the outside world.”

Before releasing Assange, Ecuador asked British authorities not to extradite Assange to a country “where he could face torture or the death penalty.” The British government agreed to comply with the request.

The Metropolitan Police issued the following statement:

Wikileaks tweeted that Assange did not voluntarily leave the embassy — writing that British police were “invited” in and immediately arrested him:

We’ve reached out to Wikileaks for a formal statement.

The relationship between Assange and the country that afforded him diplomatic shelter in a few rooms in Knightsbridge for so many years has been growing increasingly strained.

Last year the embassy cut his access to the Internet and outside communication — saying it was implementing an isolation regime after Assange had breached a written commitment not to issue messages that might interfere with other states.

It later partially restored his access to the Internet and external visits after a UN intervention. But clearly Ecuador’s patience with the mercurial Wikileaks founder has worn thin.

U.K. Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt reacted to the news with a strongly-worded tweet: