Pierluigi Paganini July 22, 2018

According to media, Ecuador is going to hand over the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the UK in “coming weeks or even days.”

In 2012 a British judge ruled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault there, but Assange received political asylum from Ecuador and spent the last years in its London embassy.

Now Ecuador is planning to withdraw its political asylum, likely next week, this means that Assange will leave the embassy and British authorities will catch him.

“Sources close to Assange said he himself was not aware of the talks but believed that America was putting ‘significant pressure’ on Ecuador, including threatening to block a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if he continues to stay at the embassy,” reported RT.

The newly-elected President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno arrived in London on Friday, officially the motivation of his travel is the participation at the Global Disability Summit on 24 July 2018, but media reports suggest he was reaching an agreement with UK government to withdraw the asylum protection of Assange.

“ECUADOR’S PRESIDENT Lenin Moreno traveled to London on Friday for the ostensible purpose of speaking at the 2018 Global Disabilities Summit (Moreno has been using a wheelchair since being shot in a 1998 robbery attempt). The concealed, actual purpose of the President’s trip is to meet with British officials to finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange, in place since 2012, eject him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities.” wrote Glenn Greenwald on the Intercept.

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1020338914261954560

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1020377217078095873

In May 2017, Swedish prosecutors dropped their preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against Julian Assange, but the Wikileaks founder fears that he would be extradited to the US, where he is facing federal charges his role in the Chelsea Manning‘s case.

Three months ago, Ecuador blocked Assange from accessing the internet, mainly to avoid that he could express support to Catalonia and its dispute with the Spanish Government for the independence.

According to Ecuador, Assange had violated the agreement to refrain from interfering in other states’ politics.

Which are current charges against Assange in the UK?

The only criminal proceeding against Assange is a pending 2012 arrest warrant for “failure to surrender” that is considered by experts a minor bail violation charge.

This charge carries a prison term of three months and a fine, though it is possible that the time Assange has already spent in prison in the UK could be counted against that sentence.

Stay Tuned …