Julian Assange: Ecuador wants to end my asylum status

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says Ecuador wants to revoke its asylum status. He points to a number of recently imposed rules, with which the country is trying to end his political asylum, according to Assange.

Assange said at a hearing that a number of recent rules imposed by Ecuador are signs the country wants to get him out of the London embassy, ​​Reuters writes. The hearing, in which Assange spoke via teleconference from the embassy, ​​is part of a lawsuit he has filed against Ecuador.

The WikiLeaks founder started this legal action because he was confronted with unwanted new rules, such as obligations to pay for medical treatment, telephone calls and cleaning up his house cat’s mess. Assange says Ecuadorian President Moreno has already decided to withdraw his asylum status, but the official order has not yet been given.

After saying this, Assange was interrupted by Ecuador’s state attorney Iñigo Salvador, who reminded him not to make any political statements during the proceedings. Salvador did not immediately respond to Assange’s allegations, though he said a week ago that the WikiLeaks founder can remain in the embassy as long as he adheres to the new rules. The lawyer also said the UK has given Assange guarantees that he will not be extradited to the US if he leaves the embassy. Earlier there were reports that Ecuador would like to hand over Julian Assange to the British police and the South American country also called his stay “unsustainable”.

After Sweden withdrew a warrant for Assange in 2017, all that remains is the 2012 arrest warrant that Assange ignored. That warrant was issued by a British court because the WikiLeaks founder failed to report to the police on June 29, 2012 to be extradited. to be given to Sweden. He then fled to the Ecuadorian embassy and was granted political asylum. The United States has wanted to prosecute Assange since 2010 for leaking internal US government documents via the WikiLeaks website.