Assange may be shown Ecua-door
Exiled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be about to get the boot from Ecuador’s embassy in London.
The country’s foreign minister indicated Tuesday her government wants someone to take the outspoken refugee off its hands, given the “untenable’’ situation.
Assange has been taking refuge at the embassy for the past five years.
But he recently landed in hot water with Ecuadorean officials for speaking out against some of its allies, including Spain, over what he called “human-rights abuses’’ involving separatists in its Catalan region.
Assange had sought diplomatic protection at the embassy to dodge prosecution by the US for leaking classified government documents. He also was fleeing Sweden amid rape allegations. Although the rape probe was dropped, he still faces bail-violation charges.
Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said her country is seeking a “third-party mediator’’ to figure out a way to settle the situation.
“No solution will be achieved without international cooperation and the cooperation of the United Kingdom, which has also shown interest in seeking a way out,’’ she told reporters.
A reporter for state-run TV teleSUR later tweeted that Espinosa, is “seeking the mediation of a third country or personality.”