Julian Assange to be expelled from Ecuadorian embassy in London WITHIN HOURS say WikiLeaks
JULIAN ASSANGE, the fugitive computer programmer, is set to be expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy in London “within hours”, a “high-level” source claims.
The WikiLeaks founder has been in the London building since 2012 after seeking asylum there as Swedish police wanted to question him over allegations of sexual assault and rape. WikiLeaks tweeted on Thursday night: “A high-level source within the Ecuadorian state has told WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within 'hours to days' using the INA papers offshore scandal as a pretext and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.” However confusion surrounds Mr Assange, after an unnamed Ecuadorian official said no decision had been made on Mr Assange's future.
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The source, a top official, slammed Wikileaks for the claims, and denied Mr Assange was due to be expelled.
Ecuador’s foreign ministry would only say it “doesn’t comment on rumours, theories or conjectures that don’t have any documented backing”.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, José Valencia, erased three tweets he wrote in relation to Julian Assange sent at 7:14am Ecuador time, according to CNN's reporter in Quito.
The Foreign Minister said that "rumours" about Assange leaving the embassy have existed for months.
He added that the government will not respond to the new rumours as he considers them insulting, insisting that Ecuador is free to grant or withdraw asylum at anytime.
However, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has insisted Mr Assange is a "free man" and can leave the embassy if he wishes.
Mr Hunt said today: "Julian Assange is a free man. He can leave that embassy whenever he wants. We want the situation resolved as quickly as possible. It is up to him".
A group of protesters gathered outside Ecuador's London embassy last night, and one van - fitted with a billboard in support of Mr Assange - was banned from the venue, upon the embassy's orders.
Mr Assange is wanted by American authorities for his role in publishing secret US documents.
In January, Mr Assange launched legal action against the Trump administration in a bid to prevent his extradition to the US.
Wikileaks tweeted today: "It will be a sad day for democracy if the UK and Ecuadorean governments are willing to act as accomplices to the Trump administration's determination to prosecute a publisher for publishing truthful information"
Pamela Anderson, a close friend of the Wikileaks founder, lashed out at the US President Donald Trump, claiming he was using PR tactics to "shift" attention away from his "inability to perform".
She wrote: "Stop wasting everyone’s time.
"Trump meddling attempts to shift focus from his inability to perform and this is pathetic crisis management/PR and threatening behavior from the US to bully Ecuador - with severe sanctions/taxes - I’m sad for this beautiful country - we have to thank Ecuador for their resilience so far. Stay Strong."
According to The Guardian, Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, said Mr Assange had “repeatedly violated” some of the conditions of his asylum.
Mr Moreno said that “Assange cannot lie or, much less, hack into private accounts or private phones”.
Mr Assange was also ordered by Ecuador to not “intervene in the politics of countries, or worse friendly countries”.
The president claims that photos of his bedroom, wife and family were circulated online, although he didn’t accuse Mr Assange of doing this.
He added: “We should ensure Mr Assange’s life is not at risk but he’s violated the agreement we have with him so many times.”
In 2010, an international arrest warrant was issued for Mr Assange amid the sexual assault claims in Sweden.
Denying the allegations, Assange said he would be extradited from Sweden to the US because of his role in the publication of secret documents.
The leaks included Afghanistan and Iraq war logs, a video entitled ‘Collateral Murder’ and CableGate.
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These documents were made public and the federal government of the US in 2010 launched the criminal investigation against him.
Swedish prosecutors dropped the rape allegations against Mr Assange and applied to revoke his European arrest warrant.
The London Metropolitan Police have said that the warrant remains active after Mr Assange failed to answer bail.
Mr Assange was embroiled in claims that he was involved with the Russia scandal during the 2016 US election, allegations he continually denies.
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