Assange to leave Ecuadorian Embassy 'soon'
After two years of asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, announced he “will be leaving the embassy soon,” but “probably not“…
After two years of asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, announced he “will be leaving the embassy soon,” but provided no specifics.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Assange was accompanied by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patiño, during a press conference where he stated that his health was suffering after two years at the embassy.
In an interview for Fairfax Media, Assange said he anticipated legal reforms in Britain that would facilitate a resolution to his case to walk out of Ecuador’s embassy a free man, and avoid an arrest and extradition to Sweden.
He also denied the reports in the British press that he may need hospital treatment for a heart defect and lung condition, saying that when he does leave it will “probably not“ be for the reasons reported on.
Patiño called on the international community to guarantee the freedom of Assange. In his column for The Guardian, Patiño stated that “Ecuador is committed to protecting persons subject to political persecution. Honest journalism and the courageous whistleblowers who denounce human rights violations or attempts against state sovereignty deserve to be protected.”
Assange fled to the embassy in 2012 fearing extradition to the United States via Sweden, where authorities want to question him over allegations of sexual assault.
So far the American Government has not sought Assange’s extradition.
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