How Assange was protected by Ecuador in £3.7m spy op
ECUADOR spent more than £3.7million protecting and supporting Julian Assange after he took refuge at its London embassy, secret files have revealed.
A top-level intelligence operation was established to monitor the activities of Scotland Yard, visitors and Mr Assange.
Undercover private security staff recorded in minute detail the movements of police officers guarding the Knightsbridge building, documents disclosed. And they listed details of visitors including ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage, former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson, activists, lawyers and journalists.
Investigators allegedly discovered the WikiLeaks founder hacked into the embassy’s computer network and set up his own satellite link.
Mr Assange, 46, claimed asylum at the embassy in 2012 after losing a legal battle to bar his extradition to Sweden, where he faced claims of rape and sexual assault.
The outspoken Australian has remained in the building ever since, making his home in cramped quarters with the aid of a running machine and sun lamp.
Ecuador even considered appointing Mr Assange to the United Nations in a desperate bid to get him out, the files said. Officials believed the move would give him diplomatic immunity and enable him to escape without arrest.
The spy operation was revealed in documents from Ecuador’s intelligence agency Senain, obtained by The Guardian. Over five years, the South American country put at least £3.7million into a secret intelligence budget to protect Mr Assange and keep him under surveillance.
Investigators hired a £2,800-amonth flat around the corner as a command post. The operation was approved by the then Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, it was claimed. But the London-based ambassador only found out about it when he received a council tax demand for the secret flat.
The Metropolitan Police spent more than £12million guarding the embassy around the clock until 2015, when officers were pulled out.
But Mr Assange stayed put as his lingering presence strained relations with staff, who at one stage pulled the plug on his internet access.
Staff have attacked his poor personal hygiene, failure to change his clothes and habit of wiping his dirty hands on himself while eating.
Although he no longer faces a live extradition warrant, he is wanted for breaching bail. Mr Assange fears he could be sent to the United States and accused of treason if held.