Assange arrested at Ecuadorean embassy
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange was last night arrested by British police after they were invited into the Ecuadorean embassy where he has been holed up since 2012.
“Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador,” police said in a statement.
Police said they arrested Assange after being invited into the embassy “following the Ecuadorean government’s withdrawal of asylum”.
Assange took refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where authorities wanted to question him as part of a sexual assault investigation.
That probe was later dropped, but Assange fears he could be extradited to face charges in the US, where federal prosecutors are investigating WikiLeaks. Police last night said Assange had been taken into custody at a central London police station and would be brought before Westminster Magistrates Court.
Assange’s relationship with his hosts collapsed after Ecuador accused him of leaking information about President Lenin Moreno’s personal life.
Mr Moreno last night said he had asked Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty.