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Geoff Caddick / AFP - Getty Images
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is shown in December speaking to the media outside the High Court in London.
Updated at 4:17 p.m. ET: WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange has taken refuge in the Ecuador Embassy in London and has asked for political asylum, Ecuador's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
"Ecuador is studying and analyzing the request," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters in the capital Quito.
The Ecuador Embassy issued the following statement:
This afternoon Mr Julian Assange arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy seeking political asylum from the Ecuadorian government.
As a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights, with an obligation to review all applications for asylum, we have immediately passed his application on to the relevant department in Quito.
While the department assesses Mr Assange's application, Mr Assange will remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorian Government.
The decision to consider Mr Assange's application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden.
Assange faces extradition to Sweden for questioning over alleged sex crimes after Britain's top court said last week that it had rejected a legal request to reconsider his case.
Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden after two women accused him of sexual misconduct during a visit to the country in mid-2010. His legal struggle to stay in Britain has dragged on for the better part of two years, clouding his website's work exposing the world's secrets.
In a brief, five-point judgment, the British court rejected arguments that Assange's legal team hadn't been given the chance to properly cross-examine the evidence that justices relied on to deny the Australian native's appeal against extradition.
Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer for Assange's accusers, told The Associated Press that Thursday's ruling is "an obvious and expected decision that has been delayed for too long."
The development effectively exhausted Assange's legal options in Britain, and he could be sent to Sweden by the end of the month. Assange could still apply to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but legal experts say the 40-year-old stands little chance there.
The former computer hacker gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing secret video footage and thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables, many of them about Iraq and Afghanistan, in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history.
That made him a hero to anti-censorship campaigners, but Washington was furious about the release of classified documents.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Nasty Coward.
My my Julian, things just are not so funny when you are on the receiving end are they? Did you ever consider the people whose lives you ruined and cost by your insistence to publish secret documents you obtained unethically? Why no you did not because you could give a rats arse if someone was executed by your misdeeds. Now you want sympathy from others? Don't be silly you stupid man. Hopefully, the family members of those you caused to die will hunt you down like a wild animal. Just not so funny anymore is it idiot?
Please enlighten us about the people who were executed because of Assange, I'd love to know!
You know...if I had the USA after me with a drone with my name on it I would run too...especially since those women are getting paid a lot of money by the CIA to pursue this BS...I would call the CIA and tell them..." I have a lot more info I can release, now here's the deal, you leave me alone and make all this BS go away and I wont publish them" I think Assange is pretty smart except for being with those hookers, gold diggers, whatever you want to call them...run Assange, then when you get there disappear to another place.
Our govt is pure evil and there is so much we dont know it would make our heads spin! and all you dudley do right military lifers...get a clue dont be a grunt...this had to happen to slow down the NWO.
P.S. If I had all that info, you would be reading it all tomorrow, maybe then we will get our people out of places we don't belong...IT"S A FRACKING MONEY WAR AND POWER PLAY
Can you site sources for that claim?
We can site sources and facts for the liars and deceit that your dishonest, corrupt and murderous Government has committed, point taken Healthless Male???????, doubt it,,,,,,,. Grow that Brain.
Julian Assange is a man down for world peace. He has exposed the evil doers of the world, who live in high places. While the elected public servants vote away our American Constitutional protection in the name of security and freedom; just so the department of defense can play war games all over the world; Julian Assange is exposing wicked evil doers. So I say stay safe Julian Assange, stay safe and thanks for exposing the wicked evil elected public servants evil deeds!! Continue to expose all evil doers. Just my thoughts!!
The information he released is more like a schoolyard tattletale than a breech. This put egg on the face of the USG and it was long overdue egg. This man is running from a government manipulating events. If you want to see the biggest file of INSIDE information about the inner Working of the USG look up Mohammad Goldstein and The Plot to Overthrow.
This guy not only tells the inside secrets he bluntly and openly confronts the USG and Obama, every senator and congressman have hard copies. you can get it for nothing on the net. When you find out how the USG uses the media to manipulate the American people you will scream. So revealing is this information is story form the man has gone into hiding.
Assange proves that once again he is a coward and a liar. I remember him and his people bragging that they had inside information about the financial crisis that would bring the American political system to its knees. But nothing was ever released, so either somehow they were forced to back off--or they never had the information to begin with. Instead, he just releases the diplomatic version of gossip, along with private information.
Why does he always have a red nose?
Bad makeup.
Alcohol.
For a guy who claims to be innocent Assange sure has a knack for making himself look guilty.
It wouldn't be the first time an innocent man gets sentenced because of political convenience.
If he were brought to the U.S. he would face a barrage of false charges, because exposing wrong deeds by the Unites States is an unforgivable sin. He did well in seeking asylum, I hope he gets it and keeps his finger up the rear end of the U.S. and all the other corrupt governments of the world. In fact this morning, on RT, he interviewed a political figure in Pakistan who is exposing the entrenched corruption in that country. I hope he lives to be old.
You think he is innocent because he says so? Fool, visit any prison... 99% of the inmates claim they are innocent. Let a jury of his peers decide his fate. The Swedish justice system is fair.
Hes seeking asylum so he doesnt have to live under house arrest in Britain. Hes not going to go to Sweden where they can railroad him either. I dont blame him, neither would I.
I hope he can finally escape this, hes done his part. Its someone elses turn now. He wont be able to report anything anymore anyway. They have shut him down. Thats why its going to take more Heroes in the future to expose wrong doing, no matter the personal cost.
Edmund Burke
What the guy did with Wiki Leaks was wrong, now he is trying to evade possible prosecution in Sweden, he lost his chance to avoid extradition to Sweden, so now he wants political asylum? Sounds to me like he is guilty...if not then why not go to Sweden and defend himself?
You are joking, right?
He is already guilty in the eyes of Sweden, case closed. He did the right thing seeking asylum, good luck to him.
You obviously do not know how their legal system works....it is not like here in America...So I am still of the opinion he put himself in a bad situation...He claimed he was innocent so why not prove it....
What a messy case: sexual "misconduct" charges in Sweden, which many suspect are politically inspired, and now the fugitives flight to, of all places, Ecuador.
Yes, quite a mess.
My guess is that this freak will be going "underground" soon enough. The only question is who will be sending him there... USA? Nope. Russia or China? More than likely.
Looks like the little smart ass has run out of luck . Give him assylum in Afganistan, the Taliban would like a nice perverted progressive like him.
WHAT A CREEP !!!
Good for you Ecuador, and good for you Assange.
You can find those who support Wiki Leaks, Private Manning as well as being anti-government being employed at places where Wifi and internet are used for free such as McDonalds and Libraries. Those who support Assange and Private Manning as well as the hacker group Anonymous use screen capture methods to capture information about people who use these services and then sell the information freely or disseminate the information through people who use the order line to make it appear that they are ordering food but are instead handed information about people that Julian Assange and his group then use to stalk and harass people to submit to his cult so people will view him as their Jim Jones.
With Julian Assange moving to Ecuador and being close to Hugo Chavez who is in league with Iran everyone can now see where the information that Wiki Leaks is being sent to.
Julian Assange is a terrorist America and he should treated no different than Osama Bin Laden.
No different.
Wow!! you must see imaginary enemies everywhere. Are they all out to get you? Maybe you should buy some bigger guns and keep a close watch because you never can tell where "they" will pop up.
I would have to agree with you Ryon. Because of Julian Assange's antics the U.S. Government has had to create more censorship protocols to keep terrorists like Assange and Manning at bay. The only goal of these two were to create an event where the American government would not be trusted and would therefore side with any anti-government group that would allow them to express theirself over the internet....in the manner that the anti-government group decided for them to express.
These groups associated with Julian Assange would be linked to groups such as the Conferderate States of America like you mentioned and any other group that hates the U.S. government and Constitution of the United States.
Julian Assange will most likely continue to provide the information to tyrants such as Hugo Chavez that will then sell the intelligence to Iran and Syria so that the Intelligence will find its way into Russian hands.
Sorry your network is as pale and transparent as your soul is.
You are not hidden not how matter how littoral non-sense you throw into the air.
The dumbest sharks in the group will always attack in broad daylight exposing theirself. The Mako will have set her attack up long before she was even known.
If he is so innocent, Sweden is the best place for him to go. He is running because he is scared of having to defend himself. He is a self-righteous smarmy who is convincing a loud and ignorant group around the world his "leaks" are important. He is playing into and aggrievating the situation. He thinks he is self important but mostly he is a tattle tale leaking worthless crap that was passed around school on notes when I was growing up. His damage was embarassing but diplomacy is always based on a false front. Diplomats have to be the face of the government and honesty is behind the scenes. I find it silly a bunch of commenters above are applauding him like they have never told a fib or made up a compliment, ever. Most would likely not take it well to be called smelly or loud or obnoxious. After all, you can see it in the responses!
Go prove your innocence like the man you claim to be rather than hiding and proving you stand for nothing.
I guess The World Tomorrow will include a prison cell for ol Julian.. Maybe he can get a room with Anders Behring Breivik.
Hope that they will accept his political asylum; and thanks for his WikiLeaks which we can see on MSNBC online.
He needs to be put into Gitmo where he belongs.
Little boys with white hair shouldn't play like their a global ruler using hidden methods for when their secrets are up their members will scurry into the caves like guppies leaving them before the harpoon to stand their judgement alone.
Hey dummies, he exposed what your government is about ! Ugly and corrupt !
For years, the only thing your government has been telling you is YOU LIVE IN THE GREASTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD ! WORK, PLAY, SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP AND DO NOT QUESTION !!
With this brainwashing most of you lost all critical thinking !
What this man did was exposed the true nature of your government ! Criminals than do not give a @!$%# about human life including yours !
YOU LIVE IN THE GREASTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD !
They have repeated these words so often and you heard those words since you were born, this is why you believe it !! But people you do not live in the greatest country in the world!!! Not when 50 000 of your working citizens die every year and millions more suffer misery because they cannot afford your outrageous and corrupt health care system !!!
Just like you believe that the rest of the world is socialist !!
You are a bunch of fools and believe me, it has not served you well ! Look where you are at, now !
msteel
US Army Ranger here. And if good people expose the ugly, traitorious secrets of the US Government and all the ugly elites who pretend to support us he becomes an enemy of the good people he cares about.....
Whats the point of a Government of the people, by the people and for the people?
IT NO LONGER EXISTS!
Do you know how we call america now ?? the country of medical misery ! So much for the greatest country in the world ! Ha ! sound more like a 3rd world country, to me !
Yes poodlefan007, I just looked at the poverty levels on the US statistics, not a good look for the richest and most indebted country in the world, for all those US citizens who still have a 'dream', the nightmare is just around the corner. ignorance is bliss.
Ha ha! Good on him. They're gonna play the underhanded, dirty smear campaign to discredit the uncovering of all the foul goings on in the world, then he should play just as dirty; Seek asylum in every embassy he can find. Let this thing be caught up in an endless quagmire of bureaucracy and red tape and maybe, Mr. Assange, you'll live out your life being despised by conservatives and secret keepers. Still beats being "suicided" a couple months after being convicted of some very dodgy, convenient rape allegations. Putting Assange in prison is like convicting the witness for reporting the murder. Why, oh why, America, can you not see that?
Well said, how d'ya like me now.
Tiny Ecuador should give Assange political asylum. After all, wiki leaks allowed President Correa to expel Ms. Hodges as ambassador to that country, after it was found out that this loose in the tongue broad, pretending to be a US diplomat, was a cheap expression of the State Department´s opinion about Ecuador. The UK should also not interfere, detaining Assange and violating Ecuador´s diplomatic status in London. Assange is a good guy. He merely let the rest of the world know about the wheeling and dirty diplomatic dealing of some of the most advanced countries´ in the world, with respect to the rest.