Wikileaks’ Julian Assange says Ecuador may end asylum
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday that Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum in its London embassy and hand him over to the United States, but a judge rejected his lawsuit over embassy living conditions.
Assange sought to overturn new house rules imposed on him, which bar him from commenting on affairs in a way that could harm Ecuador’s foreign relations, set parameters on his visitation privileges and require him to clean up after his cat. Assange, an Ecuadorian citizen since December, could be expelled from the embassy should he fail to comply with the new rules.
“There’s a limit as to how low a country can stoop,” said Assange via audio-video feed from the embassy.
The new rules are a veiled attempt by Ecuador to end his asylum status because of pressure by the U.S. and U.K. on the government of President Lenin Moreno, he added.
Sweden dropped the case in 2017 but Assange remains in the embassy as he fears being extradited to the US to face charges over the WikiLeaks website’s release of sensitive US government files.
photo/Espen Moe
