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Hidden microphone found at Ecuador's embassy in UK, says foreign minister | Hidden microphone found at Ecuador's embassy in UK, says foreign minister |
(35 minutes later) | |
A hidden microphone has been found inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London where the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is holed up, according to the country's foreign minister. | |
Ricardo Patiño said the device had been discovered a fortnight ago inside the office of the Ecuadorean ambassador, Ana Alban, while he was in the UK to meet Assange and discuss the whistleblower's plight with the British foreign secretary, William Hague. | |
"We regret to inform you that in our embassy in London we have found a hidden microphone," Patiño told a news conference in Quito on Tuesday. | |
"I didn't report this at the time because we didn't want the theme of our visit to London to be confused with this matter," he said. | |
"Furthermore, we first wanted to ascertain with precision what could be the origin of this interception device in the office of our ambassador." | |
He described the discovery of the device as "another instance of a loss of ethics at the international level in relations between governments" and said he would reveal more details as to who might have planted the microphone on Wednesday. | |
The Foreign Office declined to comment immediately on the allegation, while a No 10 spokesman said he did not comment on security issues. | |
Assange has been living inside the embassy for more than a year to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations by two women of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. | Assange has been living inside the embassy for more than a year to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations by two women of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. |
He fears that if sent to Sweden he could be extradited from there to the US to face potential charges over the release of thousands of confidential US documents on WikiLeaks. | |
Ecuador's protection of Assange has strained relations with Britain. | |
After talking to Assange until four in the morning on 17 June, Patiño met Hague for fruitless negotiations on the affair. | |
The Foreign Office said "no substantive progress" had been made during the discussions, while Patiño told a press conference that Assange's situation was "totally unjust". | |
Patiño also said his government and Assange himself were prepared for a long waiting game, with the WikiLeaks founder telling him he was fit enough to spend another five years inside the Knightsbridge embassy. | |
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