WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Seeks Asylum in Ecuador

12:45 AM PDT 6/20/2012 by Georg Szalai

0
0
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

Assange has asked for political asylum at the country's embassy in London days after the U.K. Supreme Court rejected his appeal against extradition to Sweden.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has sought political asylum at the embassy of Ecuador in London, the Guardian reported Wednesday.

U.K. Court Rejects Julian Assange's Request to Reopen Extradition Case

WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Launches Talk Show With Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah as First Guest

The news comes just days after the U.K. Supreme Court rejected his last appeal against extradition to Sweden where Assange would face rape and other accusations.

Assange walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in the London neighborhood of Knightsbridge and asked for asylum, citing the UN declaration of human rights, according to the paper.

"I can confirm I arrived at the Ecuadorean embassy and sought diplomatic sanctuary and political asylum," Assange said in a statement, cited by the Guardian. "This application has been passed to the ministry of foreign affairs in the capital Quito. I am grateful to the Ecuadorean ambassador and the government of Ecuador for considering my application."

Assange has denied the sexual assault charges made in 2010. The WikiLeaks founder has said that an extradition to Sweden could lead to an eventual extradition to the U.S. on potential espionage charges.

The U.S. government launched an investigation in 2011 into WikiLeaks and secret embassy cables it got its hands on and published. The U.S. has not made a request for extradition so far.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai