FILE – In this May 19, 2017, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters from a balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was on Thursday taken into custody in Central London by the British Police, news agency Reuters reported. Assange was arrested from the Ecuador Embassy in London after the South American country withdrew the asylum granted to him.
“He (Assange) has been taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as is possible,” a statement issued by the Metropolitan Police said, adding that Assange had been arrested on a warrant issued by the same court on June 29 2012, for “failing to surrender to the court.”
“The MPS (Met Police Service) had a duty to execute the warrant, on behalf of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, and was invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government’s withdrawal of asylum,” the statement said.
A police van parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. (AP)Assange took refuge in Ecuador’s London embassy in 2012 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 prosecutors are investigating mass disclosures of classified information through WikiLeaks.
The Wikileaks founder’s relationship with his hosts collapsed after Ecuador accused him of leaking information about President Lenin Moreno’s personal life. Moreno had previously said Assange has violated the terms of his asylum.
A protester holds a placard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. (AP)Reacting on Assange’s arrest, the Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno said that he had asked Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty.
Ecuador decidió soberanamente retirar el asilo diplomático a Julian Assange por violar reiteradamente convenciones internacionales y protocolo de convivencia. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/V02pvvtPY0
— Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) April 11, 2019
“In line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law, I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty,” Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter.
Hope Assange rights will not be violated: Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, answering a question about the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, said Moscow hopes that his rights will not be violated, news agency Reuters reported.
(Inputs from Reuters)
