The British Ambassador in Quito has said there will be a formal protest submitted to the Ecuadorian Government over its decision to harbor WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in its embassy in London.
Assange has been holed up in the embassy since 2012, where he has been avoiding extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations dating from 2010, fearing he might be extradited to America and have to face trial over WikiLeak’s releasing of confidential documents.
The Swedish case has been formally dropped now as it ran out of time to bring the charges forward, but he could still be facing a charge of rape over another allegation that won’t expire until August 2020.
The British Government sees the Ecuadorian government’s behavior as interrupting the course of justice.
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Sky News reports that Hugo Swire, a UK Minister of State, has said the Ecuadorian Government’s decision to keep Assange safe is “being seen as a growing stain on the country’s reputation,” adding that it is “completely unacceptable that the British taxpayer has had to foot the bill for this abuse of diplomatic relations.”
H/T Reuters
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