WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange last night walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to seek political asylum.
The 40-year-old Australian, who faces a rape allegation in Sweden and is due to be extradited to the country in just nine days, entered the building in Knightsbridge and asked for asylum under the United Nations Human Rights Declaration.
Mr Assange said in a statement yesterday: ‘I can confirm that today I arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy and sought diplomatic sanctuary and political asylum. This application has been passed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital Quito.
‘I am grateful to the Ecuadorian ambassador and the government of Ecuador for considering my application.’
The dramatic move followed a long-running legal bid by the former computer hacker to halt his extradition to Sweden.
There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office.
The UK Supreme Court decided on May 30 that extradition was lawful and could go ahead. But Mr Assange was given time to consider the judgment and whether to take an appeal to Europe.
But instead he appears to have rejected this approach to claim diplomatic protection at the embassy of Ecuador, which first offered him asylum two years ago.
Ecuador, alongside the UK, are both signatories on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Assange has attempted to use to challenge his extradition.
Aside from the earlier offering of asylum, it remains unclear why Assange opted to claim asylum in Ecuador – which has an extradition treaty to the United States.
Although in an interview carried out by Assange, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has previously praised Wikileaks and the transparency brought about by the release of diplomatic cables as being beneficial for Ecuador.
The 40-year-old was originally wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities over accusations of raping a woman and sexually molesting and coercing another in Stockholm in August 2010 while on a visit to give a lecture. However, they have not charged him.
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