Coroner & Legal
UK ‘threatens’ to raid Ecuador embassy over Assange
Britain has threatened to raid the Ecuadorian embassy in London if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not handed over, Ecuador’s foreign minister says.
At a media conference in Quito, Ricardo Patino said the position taken by the British government was “unacceptable”.
“Today we’ve received a threat by the United Kingdom, a clear and written threat that they could storm our embassy in London if Ecuador refuses to hand in Julian Assange,” he said.
“We are not a British colony.”
Ecuador says it wants to give the Australian asylum, but the British government is refusing to provide him with safe passage, meaning he will be arrested as soon as he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy where he fled to several months ago.
Mr Patino said a decision on the Wikileaks founder’s asylum request would be made public late tonight.
In response to Mr Patino’s press conference the British Foreign Office said it was “determined” to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden.
“The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfil this obligation,” said a Foreign Office spokesman.
Mr Assange is trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations made by two WikiLeaks supporters in 2010.
The activist says he had consensual sex with the women.
The Australian, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published thousands of secret United States diplomatic cables, says he fears he could be sent to the US, where he believes his life would be at risk.
In the past he has appealed for the Australian Government to intervene, but the Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon this told Radio National there is little Australia can do.
“We’ve certainly made diplomatic contact and we’ve obviously been providing consular support as well but ultimately, I think you and your listeners would understand that this is a matter between Mr Assange and Ecuador,” she said.
“Increasingly it seems it’s a matter between Ecuador and the UK.”
First published: 2012-08-16 01:58 AM