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| WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested at London's Ecuadorian embassy – live updates | WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested at London's Ecuadorian embassy – live updates |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The actor Pamela Anderson, who has visited Assange at the embassy, has condemned the arrest. | |
| I am in shock..I couldn’t hear clearly what he said? He looks very bad. How could you Equador ? (Because he exposed you).How could you UK. ?Of course - you are America’s bitch and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit bullshit. | |
| The Swedish Prosecution Authority said it will issue a statement on Julian Assange’s arrest later today. | |
| Elisabeth Massi Fritz, lawyer for one of the two women who accused Assange in 2010, told Swedish media: | |
| My client and I have just received the news that Assange has been arrested. That’s what we have been waiting and hoping for for almost seven years has now happened as clearly a shock to my client. We will do everything we can to ensure that the prosecutors resume the Swedish preliminary investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape. | |
| When Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny dropped the Swedish investigation into the allegations in May 2017, she stressed that the investigation could be reopened if Assange returned to Sweden before the statute of limitations on the rape allegation against him ends in August 2020. | |
| Jen Robinson, one of Assange’s legal team, claims the arrest was made in relation to a US extradition request. | |
| Just confirmed: #Assange has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request. @wikileaks @khrafnsson | |
| Home secretary Sajid Javid is due to make a statement to the Commons at around 2.15pm. | |
| Outside the Ecuadorian embassy, a group of reporters were interviewing a sole Assange supporter wearing a placard reading “free Julian Assange” around his neck. | |
| Kyle Farren, 22, from Knightsbridge, said: | |
| I think I might have arrived just as he was taken. He was taken at around 10.30am. | |
| When I arrived there was three vans all parked out here and there was a semicircle of police around the entrance, and a policewoman asked me to move on. | |
| When I arrived there was just one journalist [here], from Ruptly. | |
| The book Assange was holding when he was arrested appears to be Gore Vidal’s History of the National Security State. | |
| AFP reports that a lawyer for one of Assange’s accusers in Sweden has urged prosecutors to reopen the case. | |
| #BREAKING Swedish Assange accuser urges prosecution to reopen rape case: lawyer pic.twitter.com/5mXUVLj2GS | |
| Edward Snowden, the computer analyst who provided the Guardian with secret NSA documents leading to revelations about US surveillance on phone and internet communications, has expressed his backing for Assange. | Edward Snowden, the computer analyst who provided the Guardian with secret NSA documents leading to revelations about US surveillance on phone and internet communications, has expressed his backing for Assange. |
| Important background for journalists covering the arrest of Julian #Assange by Ecuador: the United Nations formally ruled his detention to be arbitrary, a violation of human rights. They have repeatedly issued statements calling for him to walk free--including very recently. pic.twitter.com/fr12rYdWUF | Important background for journalists covering the arrest of Julian #Assange by Ecuador: the United Nations formally ruled his detention to be arbitrary, a violation of human rights. They have repeatedly issued statements calling for him to walk free--including very recently. pic.twitter.com/fr12rYdWUF |
| The reference to the UN may refer to a UN panel on arbitrary detention. | The reference to the UN may refer to a UN panel on arbitrary detention. |
| WikiLeaks has accused “powerful actors”, including the CIA, of a “sophisticated” effort to dehumanise Julian Assange. | WikiLeaks has accused “powerful actors”, including the CIA, of a “sophisticated” effort to dehumanise Julian Assange. |
| This man is a son, a father, a brother. He has won dozens of journalism awards. He's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2010. Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanise, delegitimize and imprison him. #ProtectJulian pic.twitter.com/dVBf1EcMa5 | This man is a son, a father, a brother. He has won dozens of journalism awards. He's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2010. Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanise, delegitimize and imprison him. #ProtectJulian pic.twitter.com/dVBf1EcMa5 |
| My colleague Jessica Elgot wants to know what book or magazine Assange was holding. Any answers? | My colleague Jessica Elgot wants to know what book or magazine Assange was holding. Any answers? |
| What’s this book or magazine that Assange is holding? pic.twitter.com/lHDfw4PiNI | What’s this book or magazine that Assange is holding? pic.twitter.com/lHDfw4PiNI |
| Sources told the Press Association that police were invited into the embassy and made the arrest shortly after 10am. | Sources told the Press Association that police were invited into the embassy and made the arrest shortly after 10am. |
| “It was a planned operation,” said the source. | “It was a planned operation,” said the source. |
| Writer James Ball, who has previously worked with WikiLeaks, points out that Ecuador’s statement does not rule out Assange being extradited to the US. | |
| That’s an easy guarantee for the UK to give, as it’s essentially impossible for an EU country to extradite someone to face the death penalty under existing human rights law anyway. | That’s an easy guarantee for the UK to give, as it’s essentially impossible for an EU country to extradite someone to face the death penalty under existing human rights law anyway. |
| Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, criticised the arrest as “the hand of ‘democracy’ squeezing the throat of freedom”. | Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, criticised the arrest as “the hand of ‘democracy’ squeezing the throat of freedom”. |
| Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt also thanked Ecuador and insisted that Assange was “no hero”. | |
| Julian Assange is no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years. Thank you Ecuador and President @Lenin Moreno for your cooperation with @foreignoffice to ensure Assange faces justice | Julian Assange is no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years. Thank you Ecuador and President @Lenin Moreno for your cooperation with @foreignoffice to ensure Assange faces justice |
| RT has more video footage of the moment Assange was arrested: | RT has more video footage of the moment Assange was arrested: |
| Say what you like about RT but they've been broadcasting the world's most boring livefeed of an embassy door for a week and ended up with footage of the police arriving and Assange being carried out. (Scroll back an hour to see the whole thing play out.) https://t.co/nWqZs9rurk | Say what you like about RT but they've been broadcasting the world's most boring livefeed of an embassy door for a week and ended up with footage of the police arriving and Assange being carried out. (Scroll back an hour to see the whole thing play out.) https://t.co/nWqZs9rurk |
| Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan has issued this statement: | |
| It is absolutely right that Assange will face justice in the proper way in the UK. It is for the courts to decide what happens next. | |
| We are very grateful to the government of Ecuador under President Moreno for the action they have taken. | |
| Today’s events follow extensive dialogue between our two countries. I look forward to a strong bilateral relationship between the UK and Ecuador in the years ahead.” | |
| Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, has issued a video explaining his decision to withdraw Julian Assange’s asylum status after seven years. Moreno complained about Assange’s behaviour and accused him of being involved in “interfering in internal affairs of other states” while in the embassy. | |
| He said the asylum of Assange “is unsustainable and no longer viable” because he had repeatedly violated “clear cut provisions of the conventions of diplomatic asylum”, citing the recent leak of Vatican documents by Wikileaks. | |
| The statement continued: | The statement continued: |
| The patience of Ecuador has reached its limit on the behaviour of Mr Assange. He installed electronic and distortion equipment not allowed. He blocked the security cameras of the Ecuadorian mission in London. He has confronted and mistreated guards. He had accessed the security files of our embassy without permission. He claimed to be isolated and rejected the internet connection offered by the embassy, and yet he had a mobile phone with which he communicated with the outside world. | |
| While Ecuador upheld the generous conditions of his asylum, Mr Assange legally challenged in three difference instances the legality of the protocol. In all cases, the relevant judicial authorities have validated Ecuador’s position. | |
| In line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law, I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty. The British government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules. | |
| Finally, two days ago, WikiLeaks, Mr Assange’s allied organisation, threatened the government of Ecuador. My government has nothing to fear and does not act under threats. Ecuador is guided by the principles of law, complies with international law and protects the interests of Ecuadorians. | |
| In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/pZsDsYNI0B | In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/pZsDsYNI0B |
| Here’s video of Assange being arrested | Here’s video of Assange being arrested |
| BREAK: Full @Ruptly video of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest by British police this morning pic.twitter.com/tdBw1Kbpxn | BREAK: Full @Ruptly video of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest by British police this morning pic.twitter.com/tdBw1Kbpxn |
| Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy following the withdrawal of asylum by the Ecuadorian government, Scotland Yard says. | |
| Julian Assange has been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service https://t.co/yhOIPbmMo2 pic.twitter.com/dUrDp228In | Julian Assange has been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service https://t.co/yhOIPbmMo2 pic.twitter.com/dUrDp228In |
| Home secretary Sajid Javid thanked Ecuador for its cooperation. | |
| Nearly 7yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law | Nearly 7yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law |
| Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno explained the decision on Twitter. He said: “In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols.” | |
| In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/pZsDsYNI0B | In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/pZsDsYNI0B |
| Wikileaks tweeted: | Wikileaks tweeted: |
| URGENT: Ecuador has illigally terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law. He was arrested by the British police inside the Ecuadorian embassy minutes ago.https://t.co/6Ukjh2rMKD | URGENT: Ecuador has illigally terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law. He was arrested by the British police inside the Ecuadorian embassy minutes ago.https://t.co/6Ukjh2rMKD |