Julian Assange faces expulsion from Ecuador Embassy hideout in UK

LONDON: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is likely to be expelled from his hideout at the Ecuador Embassy here, where he had sought asylum six years ago, after Ecuador President Lenin Moreno said that the Australian should go, according to a media report on Saturday.

Assange, 47, has been living in Ecuador Embassy in Knightsbridge in central London since 2012 when he was granted political asylum.

"I expect (Assange) to lose his asylum status imminently. This means, he will be expelled from the embassy. When this will happen is impossible to say," a source related to the case was quoted as saying by "The Times" newspaper.

The Ecuador President had recently made an statement in Spain that nobody should remain in asylum "for too long".

"I have never been in favour of Assange's activity," Moreno had said at an event in Madrid earlier this week.

"I have never agreed with the interventions in people's private emails in order to obtain information, however valuable it may be, to bring out certain undesirable acts of governments or people, not in that way. There are correct and legal ways to do it," he had said.

An assistant of Assange, a Australian national - who fears being extradited to the US where he is wanted for leaking secretive documents via Wikileaks, has criticised the Ecuador President for ending the asylum status.

The crisis had prompted contingency plans for him to leave in "hours, days or weeks", one of Assange's team member was quoted as saying in the report.