Ecuador cuts Assange’s internet connection

Ecuador has suspended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s communication system after he discussed on social media issues that could damage the country’s diplomatic relations, the government said on Wednesday.

Assange has been living in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 2012, when he entered the building to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about allegations of sex crimes, which he has always denied.

He recently spoke on social media about a diplomatic crisis between London and Moscow as well as about Catalonian separatism, despite warnings by Ecuador to avoid controversial political subjects.

“The measure was adopted in the face of Assange’s failure to comply with a written commitment he assumed with the government at the end of 2017, under which he was obliged not to issue messages that would interfere with other states,” Ecuador’s government said in a statement.

The statement did not say which communication system it had suspended. In 2016, Ecuador restricted Assange’s internet access for commenting on US internal affairs.

But a source close to WikiLeaks said that the Ecuadorean government had “placed electronic jammers inside the embassy on Tuesday night to prevent Mr. Assange from tweeting, and communicating over phone and internet generally.”