- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Assange to Leave Embassy When ‘Siege’ Is Lifted – WikiLeaks Spokesperson

© REUTERS John Stillwell/pool WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures during a news conference at the Ecuadorian embassy in central London August 18, 2014.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures during a news conference at the Ecuadorian embassy in central London August 18, 2014. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange will leave the Embassy of Ecuador in London only when the cordon around the embassy is lifted, WikiLeaks spokesman and Assange’s lawyer Kristinn Hrafnsson said in an interview with RT.

MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) – WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange will leave the Embassy of Ecuador in London only when the cordon around the embassy is lifted, WikiLeaks spokesman and Assange’s lawyer Kristinn Hrafnsson said in an interview with RT.

Assange is indeed planning to leave the embassy, but only if the British government “calls off the siege outside,” Hrafnsson said.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, Assange said he awaits legal reforms in the United Kingdom that will help him find the proper solution to the threat of extradition to Sweden.

Earlier the same day, the Wikileaks founder said he may soon leave Ecuador’s embassy in London, where he has sought refuge for more than two years.

Sky News television went as far as to suggest that Assange may surrender to the police, because of his poor health, which includes heart and lung problems. However, Assange’s lawyer, Christian Hrafnsson, strongly denied that his client was going to leave the embassy in the foreseeable future in an interview with the RT television channel.

Julian Assange created the WikiLeaks website back in 2006, taking the role of editor-in-chief. Wikileaks made its name by releasing scores of classified diplomatic and military documents from governments around the world, most notably the United States. The whistleblower was charged for sexual assault in Sweden in 2010, but released on bail.

Since 2012, Assange has been hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in central London, facing extradition to Sweden if he so much as steps outside of the embassy. Assange later received political asylum in the South American country, but British police officers have been stationed outside the building round-the-clock for over two years, ready to detain him.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала