Ecuador’s president seeks Assange’s exit from London embassy

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

LONDON – Ecuadorean and British officials are discussing how to get Julian Assange out of Ecuador’s embassy here, where he has been holed up for six years, the president of the South American nation confirmed Friday.

It comes after British media reported earlier this month that authorities were "locked in discussions over the fate of Assange."

Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno said the life of the WikiLeaks founder would have to be guaranteed if he is to be released.

Speaking in the Spanish capital of Madrid, Moreno said nobody should remain under asylum “for too long." He said that any change in Assange’s status should be the result of negotiations with all sides.

“What we want is for his life not to be in danger,” Moreno said.

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Assange sought refuge in the embassy in central London in June 2012, after fleeing there to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Sweden dropped its criminal investigation in 2017, but a warrant issued for Assange's arrest by police in London for breaching the conditions of his bail remains in effect. Assange is concerned that if he leaves the embassy, the U.S. would seek his arrest and extradition over the leaking of classified documents to WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks is also the focus of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections by distributing hacked materials.

Ecuador has toughened its stance following the election in May of Moreno, who has described Assange as a “hacker,” an “inherited problem” and a “stone in the shoe.” The embassy cut off Assange's Internet access in March, following a Twitter spat with a British minister over the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy with a Soviet-developed nerve agent in an English city.

Contributing: Doug Stanglin in Mclean, Va.