Assange staying put
WikiLeaks founder fears U.S., will stay in Ecuadorean embassy
LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States.
In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the first anniversary of taking refuge in the cramped diplomatic building, Assange said he remained hopeful he might be able to leave but offered little evidence to suggest he would be finding new living quarters anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t leave,” he said. “(But) my lawyers have advised me I shouldn’t leave the embassy because of the risk of arrest in relation to the risk of arrest and extradition to the United States.”
When asked whether he would remain inside even if Sweden dropped the investigation against him, Assange said: “That’s correct.”
Assange chose his words carefully in the interview, which was conducted last Friday under embargo. In a wide-ranging discussion behind drawn white net curtains, Assange hailed Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency who made revelations about U.S. surveillance programmes, as a hero.
He also railed against the United States, Britain and his native Australia and talked about his case with semi-legal expertise.
Assange, 41, fled to the Ecuadorean embassy last June to avoid extradition to Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.
He says he does not want to answer the allegations in person because he believes Sweden would hand him over to the U.S. authorities, who would try him for helping facilitate one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.