Ecuador refuses to confirm Assange's imminent embassy expulsion

World
Europe

‍Ecuador's Foreign Ministry has dismissed what it alleges are rumors that the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be expelled from its London embassy soon, local newspaper El Comercio reported.

"Ecuador is not answering rumors, hypotheses or suggestions, which are not confirmed by any documents," the newspaper quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

The rumor started after Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said Tuesday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has "repeatedly violated" the terms of his asylum in the Andean nation's London embassy, where he has lived for nearly seven years, but he did not say whether or not the government would take steps to remove Assange from the embassy.

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange display banners and placards as they gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, April 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Ecuador reiterated in a statement in March that its treatment of Assange was in line with international law, but that his situation "cannot be extended indefinitely."

WikiLeaks said earlier Friday that its founder Assange would be expelled "within hours to days," according to a high level source within the Ecuador government. It also claimed that Quito and London had reached an agreement on arresting the WikiLeaks founder.

A screenshot of WikiLeaks' Twitter, April 5, 2019. /CGTN Photo

Assange took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy in 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where authorities wanted to question him as part of a sexual assault investigation. The case was closed in 2017, but Assage is still faced with arrests from the UK due to failure to show up in a London court.

Ecuador last year established new rules for Assange's behavior while in the embassy, which required him to pay his medical bills and clean up after his pet cat. He challenged the rules in local and international tribunals, arguing they violated his human rights. Both courts ruled against him.

(Cover: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London, March 19, 2017. /VCG Photo)

8151km