The WikiLeaks founder revealed internal conversations among employees of Britain’s intelligence agency in which agents apparently speculate that he is the target of a “fit-up” by Swedish authorities seeking his extradition on rape charges.

Assange, who remains in London’s Ecuadorean Embassy to avoid arrest and extradition to Sweden, explained Sunday night in an interview with the Spanish television program “Salvados” that a run-of-the-mill request for information gave him access to instant messages that remained unclassified by the Government Communications Headquarters agency.

Assange said a September 2012 message read: “They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ . … It is definitely a fit-up. … Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate.”

The GCHQ confirmed that it released the instant messages to Assange, who claimed the agency had been unaware it might have any information on him that was not classified.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.