
Julian Assange is facing decades in an American prison for espionage after he was arrested and hauled kicking and screaming out of his Ecuadorian Embassy bolthole yesterday.

In extraordinary scenes, eight policemen had to drag the bearded and dishevelled WikiLeaks founder to a waiting police van as he ranted about Donald Trump and screamed 'the UK has no civility'.

His arrest came after the Ecuadorian government ended his asylum status, saying it was tired of his ‘discourteous’ behaviour and poor personal hygiene, which reportedly included smearing faeces on the walls of the country's London embassy.

As well as the prospect of a year in a UK jail for breaching bail, Assange faces extradition to the United States and a renewed rape investigation in Sweden. Following his arrest, the 47-year-old was charged by the American government with hacking 750,000 classified documents, which carries a five-year sentence.

But US authorities are reportedly set to file further charges in the coming days, including espionage, which can carry a 20-year sentence. As the country submitted an extradition request, a US senator yesterday boasted 'he’s our property'.

Following his arrest, Assange was hauled to Westminster magistrates' court yesterday afternoon where a judge branded him a 'narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests'. He denied skipping bail in 2012 but was found guilty after the judge branded his defence 'laughable'. Assange had tried to claim he breached his bail conditions because he couldn't be guaranteed a fair trial in the UK.

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London. This would see him serve six months before a fight over his extradition to the US begins. Experts say that process could take up to two years.

Meanwhile Swedish prosecutors said they would consider restarting the rape investigation which caused Assange to first seek refuge in the embassy. The alleged victim’s lawyer declared she would ‘do all we can’ to get the case reopened. A second woman, who accused Assange of sexual assault, said she was willing to appear as a witness.

Assange's arrest came just 24 hours after Wikileaks had accused Ecuador of an 'extensive spying operation', adding that it assumed intelligence had been handed over to the Trump administration.

Mr Trump, who had declared 'I love WikiLeaks' during his 2016 campaign when the website released damaging emails concerning Hillary Clinton, said following Assange's arrest that 'I know nothing really about him'.

Julian Assange gestures to the media from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday

The Wikileaks founder was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in handcuffs yesterday by a large group of officers as stunned supporters and protesters watched on in central London

A handcuffed Assange is pictured in a van with police officers as he makes his way to Westminster Magistrates Court in London ahead of his hearing yesterday

The court heard how Assange resisted arrest and tried to barge past officers in an attempt to return to his private room within the embassy when they introduced themselves at about 10am, telling them: 'This is unlawful'

The US Department of Justice, releasing this indictment form, said Julian Assange had been arrested over an alleged conspiracy with Chelsea Manning 'to break a password to a classified US government computer'

A judge described Assange's defence that he could never expect a fair trial in the UK as 'laughable', calling his behaviour that of a 'narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests' as the court heard he tried to fight off arresting officers

Assange gestures to photographers as he is driven away from Westminster Magistrates' Court after he hearing yesterday

Assange pictured as he was led out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in handcuffs following his sensational arrest by British police yesterday

Assange (pictured bottom left) as he is arrested by police after being ejected from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London

His lawyer Jennifer Robinson and Kristinn Hrafnsson, Editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, address the media outside of Westminster Magistrates Court today

With Assange’s lawyers expected to fight his extradition case tooth and nail:

Ecuador’s interior minister accused him of smearing faeces on the walls during his stay;

The country’s president Lenin Moreno released a video statement condemning Assange’s behaviour;

Labour’s Diane Abbott claimed Assange was being pursued for ‘exposing wrongdoing’ by the US;

Jeremy Corbyn signalled he would oppose Assange’s extradition because he had exposed ‘evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan’;

Actress Pamela Anderson condemned the arrest and urged supporters to donate to WikiLeaks.

The embassy saga began in July 2012 when – having lost a battle against extradition to Sweden over two allegations of sexual assault – Assange entered the Ecuadorian property in Knightsbridge. He was given political asylum and later made a citizen of Ecuador.

During his seven-year stay, British taxpayers footed a £13million bill for round-the-clock surveillance and a visible policing effort.

But events took a dramatic turn soon after 9am yesterday when police suddenly turned up at the doors. They were met at the embassy, a few streets from Harrods, by the ambassador whose government had decided to revoke their guest’s asylum.

Officers tried to introduce themselves to the Wikileaks founder, but he barged past them and tried to return to his private room, which can be locked by a secret code. He resisted being put into handcuffs and exclaimed: ‘This is unlawful, I’m not leaving.’

Back-up officers were called in and ultimately, a team of eight officers bundled him out of the building by his arms and legs at around 10.15am. As the scene unfolded, President Moreno released his statement saying Assange’s stay at the embassy was ‘unsustainable and no long viable’ after the government had been ‘threatened’ by WikiLeaks.

Mr Moreno added: ‘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.’

President Moreno, who entered the office in 2017, was personally targeted by Wikileaks in February, when a set of documents were leaked that allegedly linked the president and family members to financial corruption and money laundering.

Wikileaks has previously called Moreno's pursuit of Assange a 'diversion tactic' aimed at pointing attention away from the scandal and scoring political points with the US, with whom he is believed to want to improve relations.

The revival of US-Ecuadoran diplomacy, led by Moreno, saw the International Monetary Fund in Washington approve a $4.2billion payment to the Ecuadorian government in March, a month to the day that Assange was arrested and charged.

Interior minister Maria Paula Romo accused Assange of smearing faeces on the walls during his stay. She added: ‘Behaviour of this kind that is far removed from the minimum respect a guest should have in a country which has generously welcomed him.’

A Downing Street spokesman insisted the UK had not lobbied the Ecuadorians to revoke Assange's asylum status.

Soon after his arrest, police announced Assange had been held for breaching bail and over an extradition request from the US.

Assange's supporters fear that his extradition will be followed by more serious US charges such as treason - a crime that carries the death penalty in wartime. However, the UK has pledged it will not extradite Assange to any country where he could be executed.

A source close to Wikileaks suggested his health is 'compromised' after spending nearly a decade in the Ecuadorian embassy. The former hacker is said to be suffering from a number of ailments including dental problems and osteoporosis, the latter because of a lack of vitamin D.

Sporting a long grey beard and a ponytail, the WikiLeaks founder smiled and waved to supporters in the public gallery from the dock in court yesterday. But the smirk vanished when district judge Michael Snow described his defence to breaching bail as ‘laughable’.

Assange was found guilty of failing to surrender to the court. Remanding him in custody, the judge told him he will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on June 14 for the bail conditions breach, adding: ‘This is a case which merits the maximum sentence, which is 12 months in the crown court.’

In a final barbed remark, the judge suggested Assange should ‘get over to the US’ and ‘get on with your life’.

The Wikileaks founder (pictured over a seven-year period) finally appeared in court today after he was sensationally expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been claiming political refuge

A protestor is handled by police officers standing outside Westminster Magistrates Court after the arrest of Julian Assange

A police van sits outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum

This graphic shows how Assange's dramatic arrest unfolded yesterday morning at the Ecuadorian Embassy

'He exposed atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan': Corbyn urges the UK not to extradite Assange to America - as luvvies and Russia slam his arrest Jeremy Corbyn has called on the Government not to extradite Julian Assange, saying he had exposed evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Almost 12 hours after Assange was arrested, the Labour leader tweeted: 'The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.' He accompanied his social media post with a video tweeted by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, which she said showed leaked Pentagon footage of a 2007 air strike in Iraq which implicated American armed forces in the killing of civilians and two journalists. Corbyn (pictured today) broke this silence this evening to urge the UK government not to extradite Assange Addressing the House of Commons on Thursday, Ms Abbott said Assange was in the 'cross-hairs of the US administration' over his whistle-blowing activities. She claimed this was the reason why the WikiLeaks founder would be subject to an extradition warrant from the US. She said: 'On this side of the House we want to make the point that the reason we are debating Julian Assange this afternoon, even though the only charge he may face in this country is in relation to his bail hearings, is entirely due to the whistle-blowing activities of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.' Ms Abbott went on: 'It is this whistle-blowing into illegal wars, mass murder, murder of civilians and corruption on a grand scale, that has put Julian Assange in the cross-hairs of the US administration. 'It is for this reason that they have once more issued an extradition warrant against Mr Assange.' In response, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'Why is it whenever someone has a track record of undermining the UK and our allies and the values we stand for, you can almost guarantee that the leadership of the party opposite will support those who intend to do us harm? 'You can always guarantee that from the party opposite.' Pamela Anderson arrives to meet Assange at the embassy in 2017 Corbyn and Abbott were joined by the likes of Pamela Anderson, Edward Snowden, Vivienne Westwood and Peter Tatchell in voicing their concern. US whistleblower Snowden warned the arrest was a 'dark moment for press freedom,' while fashion designer Westwood protested outside Westminster Magistrates Court. Snowden, a former CIA agent tweeted: 'Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the UK's secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of-like it or not-award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books.' Snowden is currently living in exile Russia having fled the US after leaking a huge cache of declassified documents back in 2013. Assange's close friend Pamela Anderson also blasted the arrest on Twitter, calling the UK 'America's b****' and claiming it was a 'diversion from Brexit'. She said: 'How could you Equador ? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK? Of course - you are America's b**** and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit b*******. ' She also called out the USA and described President Donald Trump as 'toxic'. She added: 'This toxic coward of a President He needs to rally his base? - You are selfish and cruel. You have taken the entire world backwards. 'You are devils and liars and thieves. And you will ROTT And WE WILL RISE ✊.' Ms Anderson then re-tweeted videos of Assange's arrest before posting a photo of him with the caption 'veritas valebit', which is Latin for 'truth will prevail'. And the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed the move was 'the hand of democracy squeezing the throat of freedom'. Advertisement

The US charges were announced shortly after Assange was taken into custody yesterday morning.

In a statement, US Department of Justice said Assange's arrest was 'in connection with a federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified US government computer'.

If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, it said.

Ms Manning, a transgender woman formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 after leaking 700,000 military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks.

She was released in 2017 after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by former president Barack Obama.

What is UK's extradition agreement with the US and how long could it take to send Assange to America? The UK to US extradition process is in place to seek justice for serious crimes affecting both countries and its citizens. It protects the rights of those accused and victims. The latest version of the treaty updated the formal extradition relationship between the US and UK following changes in the UK's own extradition laws and corrected a previous imbalances. It was previously required that the US would have to present its evidence in 'prima facie' form, when the US had never required that from the UK. In the case of Assange experts have now said that he is likely to receive a custodial sentence in the UK and that and extradition to the US will follow. Extradition lawyer Thomas Garner: 'Given Assange's public statements in the past it is clear that he would attempt to raise many bars to his extradition. 'The extradition court here would not come to any conclusions on the merits of the US case in the proceedings here. 'Its sole concern would be whether there are any legal bar to his being extradited to stand trial in the US. The process would take many months to conclude. 'If there were an extradition request from the US, given the likely complexity of the case, it is doubtful that any final hearing would be heard this year.' Advertisement

It is alleged Ms Manning and Assange had 'real-time discussions' on how to share the classified records, with Assange 'actively encouraging' Ms Manning to provide more.

During an exchange, Ms Manning allegedly told Assange that 'after this upload, that's all I really have got left', to which Assange replied 'curious eyes never run dry in my experience'.

The statement added: 'Assange is charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

'If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

'A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.'

Ms Manning was jailed in the US last month after she refused to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

Yesterday, legal experts said that Assange was likely to face more severe charges in the coming days and weeks.

Democratic senator Joe Manchin, of Virginia, said Assange’s arrest was ‘great for the American people’. He added: ‘We’re going to extradite him. It will be really good to get him back on United States soil. So now he’s our property and we can get the facts and truth from him.’

If he is extradited and convicted of the more serious charges, Assange could even end up in the notorious ADX Supermax Federal Prison in Colorado.

His extradition is likely to be appealed through the chain of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and potentially even the European Court of Human Rights.

His legal team said he was facing ‘what appears to be an unprecedented effort by the United States seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information.’

Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzon, who is coordinating Assange's defence, claimed yesterday he was the target of 'political persecution'.

'There is evident political persecution which started precisely with the massive publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of cables and very serious information' which Assange had published, including a trove of classified Pentagon documents detailing alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq,' he said.

'The threats against Julian Assange for political reasons, persecution on the part of the United States, are more current than ever.'

Mr Garzon also accused Ecuador's president of lying about the reasons behind the revoking of Assange's citizenship of the South American state, acquired in 2017.

Moments after the arrest, Wikileaks said Ecuador had acted illegally in terminating Assange's political asylum 'in violation of international law'

British police are pictured arriving at the embassy moments before the Wikileaks founder was dragged outside in handcuffs

Media gathers outside Westminster Magistrates Court where Julian Assange is set to appear after his arrest by Metropolitan Police

Mr Trump, who had declared 'I love WikiLeaks' during his 2016 campaign when the website released damaging emails concerning Hillary Clinton, said following Assange's arrest that 'I know nothing really about him'

Jennifer Robinson, who is also representing Assange, said: 'Since 2010 we've warned that Julian Assange would face prosecution and extradition to the United States for his publishing activities with WikiLeaks.

Who is former US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning and how is she linked to Assange? Chelsea Manning is a US Army intelligence analyst who delivered hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks. In 2009 Manning was sent to Iraq where she had access to 'troubling' information. She gave this information to Wikileaks and was later arrested after her actions were reported to the US government. In 2010 Assange was accused of conspiring with Manning and other conspirators to publish secret military and diplomatic documents that Manning had collected. In 2013 she was sentenced to 35 years in prison for espionage and theft. Chelsea Manning leaving court in March after testifying before a grand jury in the investigation against Julian Assange A year later Manning, who is transgender, was granted the right to be legally recognized as Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, after living as Bradley Manning. In 2017 President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released from prison. Earlier this year, Manning revealed that she was fighting a subpoena to testify before a grand jury about her interactions with Wikileaks. On March 5 she testified before a grand jury in the investigation against Julian Assange. Four days later she was taken into custody after a federal judge found her in contempt for her refusal to cooperate. Advertisement

'Unfortunately today, we've been proven right.

'Mr Assange was arrested this morning at about 10am at the Ecuadorian Embassy after the ambassador formally notified him that his asylum would be revoked, and he was arrested by British police.

'We've today received a warrant and a provisional extradition request from the United States, alleging that he has conspired with Chelsea Manning in relation to the materials published by WikiLeaks in 2010.

'This sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in Europe and elsewhere around the world.

'This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information about the United States.

'I've just been with Mr Assange in the police cells. He wants to thank all of his supporters for their ongoing support and he said: 'I told you so'.'

It was accidentally revealed in November that Assange had been secretly indicted by the US Justice Department, but the exact nature of the charges against the 47-year-old was not disclosed.

Assange has not left Ecuador's diplomatic soil since 2012, when the country offered diplomatic protection from allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.

Shortly after his arrest, vocal supporter and former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson tweeted a black and white photo of Assange along with the caption 'Veritas Valebit', which is Latin for 'the truth will prevail'.

The 51-year-old, who claims she was previously in a relationship with Assange, said she was in shock at the arrest.

Taking to Twitter she commented on his appearance and said he looked 'very bad'.

She said: 'How could you Equador? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK? Of course - you are America's b***h and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit b*******. '

She also called out the USA and described President Donald Trump as 'toxic'.

She added: 'This toxic coward of a President He needs to rally his base? - You are selfish and cruel. You have taken the entire world backwards.

'You are devils and liars and thieves. And you will ROTT And WE WILL RISE ✊.'

Meanwhile, US whistleblower Edward Snowden warned the arrest was a 'dark moment for press freedom'.

Snowden tweeted: 'Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the UK's secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of-like it or not-award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books.

'Assange's critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom.'

Shortly after his arrest, vocal supporter and former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson tweeted a black and white photo of Assange along with the caption 'Veritas Valebit', which is Latin for 'the truth will prevail'

Fidel Narvaez (left), former consul of Ecuador to London, looks at some of the footage, alongside WikiLeaks editor in chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and barrister Jennifer Robinson yesterday

Mr Narvaez, Mr Hrafnsson and Ms Robinson at Doughty Street Chambers in London yesterday

How Assange has cost UK taxpayers more than £12million while holed up in embassy Julian Assange first entered the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 after he was granted conditional bail in 2010 after his supporters paid £240,000 in cash and sureties. In 2015 the Met Police announced it would end its 24-hour guard as part part of a three-year police operation. Scotland Yard released figures in 2015 which suggested that Assange being in the UK is estimated to have cost over £12million. At the time the Met said the figure included £6.5million of costs incurred for police officer pay costs that would be incurred during normal duties, as well as a £2.7million price tag for police overtime. Another £1.1million is said to have been ran up due to administration costs. MailOnline has contacted the Met Police for an updated figure. Advertisement

Snowden is currently living in exile Russia having fled the US after leaking a huge cache of declassified documents back in 2013.

The Former CIA agent has been a longstanding supporter of Assange's cause having allegedly been helped by the Wikileaks founder in handing over the secret documents to journalists.

Assange's arrest comes a day after Wikileaks accused the Ecuadorean Government of an 'extensive spying operation'.

In a press conference yesterday, it was alleged that the Wikileaks founder's meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the Ecuador embassy in London over the past year had been secretly filmed.

The anti-secrecy organisation said it had been offered all the material from an unnamed person in Spain, if it paid €3million (£2.6million).

Wikileaks also told how it assumed the information had been handed over to the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said following the arrest: 'What we have shown today is that nobody is above the law - Julian Assange is no hero.

'He's hidden from the truth for years and years and it's right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system.'

He added: 'What has happened today is the result of years of careful diplomacy by the Foreign Office.'

Mr Hunt added: '[It's] a very courageous decision by President Moreno in Ecuador to resolve this situation that's been going on for nearly seven years.

'It's not so much that Julian Assange was being held hostage in the Ecuadorian Embassy, it was actually Julian Assange holding the Ecuadorian Embassy hostage. It was a situation that was absolutely intolerable to them.'

How judge who called Assange a 'narcissist' has slammed celebrity chef Marco Pierre White's son Judge Michael Snow was appointed as District Judge for the south east in 2004. He is based at the City of Westminster Magistrates in London. In 2011 he accused prosecutors of 'double standards' over a drunk who allegedly racially abused an Irish worker at Westminster Cathedral. He had also previously dealt with the case of Jacqueline Woodhouse, a woman who in 2012 launched a tirade of explicit rants on the central line tube in London. A court sketch of Assange and Judge Snow At the time Judge Snow said she had been grossly offensive. In 2016, he also criticised the son of British celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, Marco Pierre White Jr, after he pleaded guilty to dishonestly using his ex-girlfriend's bank card. He has also ruled over a number of recent cases including that of Lovel Bailey, who murdered Good Morning Britain's Alex Beresford's cousin Nathaniel Armstrong. His term of office is set to be renewed in August 2020. Advertisement

In a statement yesterday morning, Scotland Yard said: 'Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador, Hans Crescent, SW1 on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court on 29 June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court.

'He has been taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible.

'The MPS had a duty to execute the warrant, on behalf of Westminster Magistrates' Court, and was invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum.'

Wikileaks tweeted: 'URGENT: Ecuador has illigally (sic) terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law.

'He was arrested by the British police inside the Ecuadorian embassy minutes ago.'

Lenin Moreno, President of Ecuador, said in a statement on Assange: 'Ecuador is a generous country and a nation with open arms.

'Ours is a government respectful of the principles of international law, and of the institution of the right of asylum.

'Granting or withdrawing asylum is a sovereign right of the Ecuadorian state, according to international law.

'Today, I announce that the discourteous and aggressive behaviour of Mr Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declaration of its allied organisation, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable.

'Ecuador sovereignly has decided to terminate the diplomatic asylum granted to Mr Assange in 2012.

'For six years and 10 months, the Ecuadorian people have protected the human rights of Mr Assange and have provided for his everyday needs at the facilities of our Embassy in London.

'When I became the President of Ecuador, I inherited this situation and decided to adopt a protocol to set the daily life rules at the Embassy, which is less than anyone may expect from a guest hosted at his own house.

'Ecuador has fulfilled its obligations in the framework of international law.

'On the other hand, Mr Assange violated, repeatedly, clear cut provisions of the conventions on diplomatic asylum of Havana and Caracas; despite the fact that he was requested on several occasions to respect and abide by these rules.'

Rafael Correa, who was Ecuadorian president when Assange was granted asylum, has strongly condemned his successor's decision.

He tweeted that Lenin Moreno was the 'greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history'.

Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan (right) and Ecuadorian Ambassador Jaime Marchan (left) pose jubilantly at a press conference in Victoria Gardens, Westminster, after WikiLeaks founder Assange was arrested

An Assange supporter outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London's Knightsbridge last week, where protesters have gathered for seven years in support of the Wikileaks founder

Lawyer for Julian Assange's alleged Swedish rape victim says 'we will do all we can to make prosecutors reopen investigation'

The Swedish lawyer of Julian Assange's alleged rape victim is pushing to reopen the case that was dropped in 2017.

Lawyer Elisabeth Massi Fritz says she would 'do all we can to make prosecutors reopen investigation' in the wake of the Wikileaks founder's arrest yesterday.

She said: 'My client and I have just received the news that Assange has been arrested.

'The fact that what we have been waiting and hoping for for nearly seven years is now happening, of course, comes as a shock to my client.

'We will do all we can to get prosecutors to reopen the Swedish preliminary criminal investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and be prosecuted for rape.'

Julian Assange, centre, arrives for his extradition hearing at the High Court in London in 2011. He would walk into the Ecuadorian embassy as a political asylum seeker the following year

Assange was arrested by British police today after Ecuador dramatically withdrew political asylum seven years after he was given refuge in the country's London embassy.

Edward Snowden brands Julian Assange's arrest 'a dark moment for press freedom' US whistleblower Edward Snowden has warned the arrest of Julian Assange is 'a dark moment for press freedom'. Soon after Assange's arrest in London today, Snowden tweeted: 'Images of Ecuador's ambassador inviting the UK's secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of-like it or not-award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books. Edward Snowden (pictured) said critics would cheer at the arrest 'Assange's critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom.' Snowden is currently living in exile Russia having fled the US after leaking a huge cache of declassified documents back in 2013. The Former CIA agent has been a longstanding supporter of Assange's cause having allegedly been helped by the Wikileaks founder in handing over the secret documents to journalists. Advertisement

The 47-year-old has not left Ecuador's diplomatic soil since 2012, when the country offered political protection from allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.

While the case was eventually dropped, Assange has always feared extradition to the US where his lawyers have claimed he could face the death penalty for the leaking of highly-classified documents.

An international warrant for arrest was issued on November 18 2010 for Assange on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion - which he denies.

He has since lived inside the embassy in Knightsbridge for seven years when Swedish authorities requested his extradition as a suspect in the rape case.

A into his time at the embassy, Assange told journalists he would not leave even if the sex charges against him were dropped, due to fears he would be extradited to the US for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks.

In 2015, investigations into the sex allegations were dropped because Swedish authorities ran out of time to question him - but the case of suspected rape remained open.

A senior Swedish prosecutor interviewed Assange a year later over the course of two days over the allegations of rape. But in 2017, Swedish authorities suddenly dropped the rape allegations.

The Wikileaks founder was dragged head-first in handcuffs today by a group of seven men today as stunned supporters and protesters watched on in central London as he screamed out 'the UK must resist'.

Assange, who has overseen the publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through Wikileaks, is currently in custody and is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court 'as soon as possible'.

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said the decision to withdraw Assange's asylum status came after the 'repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols' and his 'discourteous and aggressive behaviour'.

In a statement yesterday, Ecuador's president added that he had asked Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to any country where he could face torture or the death penalty.

The news of his arrest was immediately confirmed by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Twitter, who said that 'no one was above the law'.

Who is Julian Assange and why is he wanted by Sweden, Britain and the US? Assange (pictured above) has overseen the publication of more than 10 million documents Julian Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy almost seven years ago. He has become a poster boy for campaigners against state spying and censorship. To his critics, he is a danger to national security and his work could make him the subject of espionage charges in the US. The Australian started hacking into networks of the powerful elite when he was part of the 'computer underground' in his late teens. The 47-year-old shot to public attention after founding the pro-transparency website in 2006 as an online library of otherwise secret documents from governments, intelligence agencies, political parties and multinational corporations. WikiLeaks servers are located all over the world, but the central server is located in an underground nuclear bunker in Stockholm, Sweden. As the self-styled editor-in-chief of the site, he has overseen the publication of more than 10 million documents and attracted high-profile supporters including Pamela Anderson, novelist Tariq Ali, filmmaker Ken Loach and Jemima Goldsmith (nee Khan). He has been quoted as saying: 'It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abusers.' Among the major leaks since the site's foundation were battlefield reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, diplomatic communications and a military video showing a US helicopter attack that killed at least 11 men. Assange has also been forced to deny Russian intelligence sources provided a trove of tens of thousands of emails from senior figures within the Democratic National Congress (DNC) during the US election campaign. He published these alongside thousands of emails from the private server of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, originating from her time as Secretary of State, which the site obtained through freedom of information laws. Assange stood down as editor of Wikileaks in September last year. Little detail is known about his personal life. His parents reportedly met at a demonstration against the Vietnam war and he was born in Townsville, Australia in 1971. He passed through 37 different schools when he was on the road with his mother's travelling theatre company. Later, while studying at the University of Melbourne between 2003 and 2005, he was vice-president of the mathematics and statistics society. He left university without graduating after becoming disillusioned with academia, according to the society's magazine Paradox. Julian Assange's cat has her own Twitter and Instagram accounts, although it is not clear whether Assange runs them personally Assange took refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 after being bailed during extradition court hearings. A short time later he was granted political asylum by the South American country. For more than a year, doctors have warned of the Australian's declining health due to the 'prolonged uncertainty of indefinite detention'. Visitors during his nearly seven years in residence have included Anderson and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, while one member of his inner sanctum has attracted its own following. His cat has her own Twitter and Instagram accounts, although it is not clear whether Assange runs them personally. She was a gift from his young children to keep their father company. Advertisement

Julian Assange's long legal battle 2006 Assange creates Wikileaks with a group of like-minded activists and IT experts to provide a secure way for whistleblowers to leak information. He quickly becomes its figurehead and a lightning rod for criticism. 2010 March: U.S. authorities allege Assange engaged in a conspiracy to hack a classified U.S. government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. July: Wikileaks starts releasing tens of thousands of top secrets documents, including a video of U.S. helicopter pilots gunning down 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007. What followed was the release of more than 90,000 classified US military files from the Afghan war and 400,000 from Iraq that included the names of informants. August: Two Swedish women claim that they each had consensual sex with Assange in separate instances when he was on a 10-day trip to Stockholm. They allege the sex became non-consensual when Assange refused to wear a condom. First woman claims Assange was staying at her apartment in Stockholm when he ripped off her clothes. She told police that when she realized Assange was trying to have unprotected sex with her, she demanded he use a condom. She claims he ripped the condom before having sex. Second Swedish woman claims she had sex with Assange at her apartment in Stockholm and she made him wear a condom. She alleges that she later woke up to find Assange having unprotected sex with her. He was questioned by police in Stockholm and denied the allegations. Assange was granted permission by Swedish authorities to fly back to the U.K. November: A Swedish court ruled that the investigation should be reopened and Assange should be detained for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. An international arrest warrant is issued by Swedish police through Interpol. Wikileaks releases its cache of more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. December: Assange presents himself to London police and appears at an extradition hearing where he is remanded in custody. Assange is granted conditional bail at the High Court in London after his supporters pay £240,000 in cash and sureties. 2011 February: A British judge rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden but Wikileaks found vows to fight the decision. April: A cache of classified U.S. military documents is released by Wikileaks, including intelligence assessments on nearly all of the 779 people who are detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. November: Assange loses High Court appeal against the decision to extradite him. 2012 June: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London requesting political asylum. August: Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador. 2013 June: Assange tells a group of journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped out of fear he will be extradited to the U.S. 2015 August: Swedish prosecutors drop investigation into some of the sex allegations against Assange due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active. 2016 July: Wikileaks begins leaking emails U.S. Democratic Party officials favoring Hillary Clinton. November: Assange is questioned over the sex allegation at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the presence of Sweden's assistant prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and police inspector Cecilia Redell. The interview spans two days. 2017 January: Barack Obama agrees to free whistleblower Chelsea Manning from prison. Her pending release prompts speculation Assange will end his self-imposed exile after Wikileaks tweeted he would agree to U.S. extradition. April: Lenin Moreno becomes the new president of Ecuador who was known to want to improve diplomatic relations between his country and the U.S. May: An investigation into a sex allegation against Assange is suddenly dropped by Swedish prosecutors. 2018 January: Ecuador confirms it has granted citizenship to Assange following his request. February: Assange is visited by Pamela Anderson and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. March: The Ecuadorian Embassy suspends Assange's internet access because he wasn't complying with a promise he made the previous year to 'not send messages which entailed interference in relation to other states'.

August: U.S. Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. September: Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks. October: Assange reveals he will launch legal action against the government of Ecuador, accusing it of violating his 'fundamental rights and freedoms'. November: U.S. Justice Department inadvertently names Assange in a court document that says he has been charged in secret. 2019 January: Assange's lawyers say they are taking action to make President Trump's administration reveal charges 'secretly filed' against him. April 6: WikiLeaks tweets that a high level Ecuadorian source has told them Assange will be expelled from the embassy within 'hours or days'. But a senior Ecuadorian official says no decision has been made to remove him from the London building. April 11: Assange has his diplomatic asylum revoked by Ecuador and he is arrested by the Metropolitan Police; he is remanded in custody by a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court. April 12: He is found guilty of breaching his bail terms. May 1: Sentenced to 11 months in jail. May 2: Court hearing takes place over Assange's proposed extradition to the U.S. He tells a court he does not consent to the extradition and the case is adjourned until May 30. May 13: Swedish prosecutors reopen rape case saying they still want to question Assange. June 3: Swedish court rules against detaining him in absentia, setting back the extradition case. June 12 Home Secretary Sajid Javid signs an extradition request from the US. June 13 A hearing sets out the date for Assange's full extradition hearing - February next year. November Swedish prosecutors stop investigation into an allegation of rape against Mr Assange November 25 - Medics say without correct medical care Assange 'could die' in Belmarsh December 13 - Hearing in London hears he is being blocked from seeing key evidence in case December 19 - Appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video-link where his lawyer claims US bid to extradite him is 'political'. 2020 June: Assange failed to appear via video link for his most recent court matter in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court Advertisement

The police bill? £13m and counting... Scotland Yard has given the figure of £13.2million as the cost of guarding the Ecuadorian embassy while Assange was inside – but the true figure is likely to be far higher. Uniformed officers were permanently stationed outside the embassy in Kensington, west London, from when the WikiLeaks founder arrived in June 2012 until October 2015. At this point, the permanent deployment was stood down as police deemed it was ‘no longer proportionate’. Under Freedom of Information laws, the Metropolitan Police has revealed that it cost at least £13.2million to guard the embassy from 2012 to 2015. It said £7.2million had been incurred in police pay, £3.8million in overtime and £2.2million in admin overheads and costs to supporting departments. Scotland Yard has refused to reveal costs incurred after 2015 for undercover officers and other surveillance. It argued the release of such information would ‘cause operational harm’. It also said it would ‘allow extremists to gauge the level of policing deployed to a specific site’ and adversely affect relations with Ecuador. Last night the Metropolitan Police said it was ‘looking into’ whether it could provide an updated figure. Advertisement

'This is unlawful, the UK must resist': How Julian Assange tried to barge past police to get to his private room in Ecuadorian Embassy before he was hauled out by EIGHT officers and bundled into van

Julian Assange shouted 'this is unlawful, the UK must resist' as he was prised from his Ecuadorian Embassy bolthole yesterday morning before being bundled into a van by eight officers.

The WikiLeaks founder, with his hair tied into a ponytail and sporting a long grey beard, was met by officers at around 10am, but attempted to barge past them and run back into his room, a court heard yesterday.

Officers restrained the dishevelled 47-year-old before lifting him into the air and taking him out of the embassy's front door into the waiting police vehicle.

Julian Assange is pictured being taken out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London yesterday morning

Assange was formally arrested at West Central police station and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, where he was found guilty of skipping bail to avoid being extradited to Sweden in 2012 to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Police were allowed into his embassy home after the Ecuadorian government withdrew his asylum, blaming his interference in international affairs and being discourteous to embassy staff.

In a scathing statement, president Lenin Moreno accused Assange of violating the terms of his asylum by 'interfering in internal affairs of other states' as well as 'blocking security cameras' and 'mistreating guards'.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo even accused him of smearing faeces on the embassy's walls.

The dramatic account of Assange's arrests was given by US government attorney James Hines. He told Westminster Magistrates’ Court today: 'Officers attended the embassy around 9.15am where they met the ambassador.

'The ambassador said he was proposing to serve documents ending Assange's asylum.' The court heard that the officers met Assange at 10am.

'The officers tried to introduce themselves to him but he barged past them attempting to return to his private room. He was arrested at 10.15am.

'He resisted that arrest and had to be restrained. Officers were struggling to handcuff him. They received assistance from other officers outside.'

Mr Assange told the court that Assange kept saying: 'This is unlawful.'

He added: 'He was in fact lifted into the police van and taken to West Central police station. There he was more formally arrested.'

Assange appeared at court yesterday and was found guilty of breaching his bail. He faces a jail sentence of up to 12 months when he is sentenced later at crown court.

He is also facing extradition to the US on charges of conspiring to break into a classified government computer, a charge the US Department of Justice said could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years.

The US accuses Assange of assisting Chelsea Manning, a former US intelligence analyst, in breaking a password that helped her infiltrate Pentagon computers.

Assange was remanded in custody and will next appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 2 by prison video-link in relation to the extradition.

Scotland Yard said Assange was held for failing to appear in court in June 2012 and 'further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10.53am after his arrival at a central London police station'.

Westminster Magistrates' Court was told he had to be restrained and lifted into a police van

British government ministers welcomed the move with both Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeting that 'no-one is above the law'.

But WikiLeaks said Ecuador had acted illegally in terminating Assange's political asylum 'in violation of international law'.

Assange, an Australian national, came to prominence after WikiLeaks began releasing hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables.

But in 2010 an arrest warrant was issued for him for two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation, after he visited Sweden for a speaking trip.

Assange launched a legal battle against extradition to Sweden from the UK but when that failed he entered the embassy, requesting political asylum.

Assange refused to leave, claiming he would be extradited to the US for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he did so.

The Ecuadorian government at the time was sympathetic to his cause but a regime change in 2017 heralded a less supportive approach and, after 2,487 days in the embassy building in the shadow of Harrods, he was finally removed.

In May 2017, Sweden's top prosecutor dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange.