Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has formally requested asylum in Ecuador, according to the country’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino, who spoke at a press conference in Quito on Tuesday. He told reporters that Assange requested asylum at the country’s embassy in London, but did not say whether this request would be accepted.

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Google Translate) said on its website on Tuesday that it was "evaluating the request of Mr. Julian Assange, and any decision on it will take into account respect for the rules and principles of international law and the traditional policy of Ecuador to safeguarding human rights."

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom dismissed Assange’s extradition appeal to Sweden, seemingly paving the way for him to face sexual abuse charges in the Nordic nation. It's unclear for the moment exactly why Assange chose Ecuador to seek asylum, but the country did offer him residency in 2010 after the organization announced that it had 1,600 cables from the American Embassy in Quito.

More recently, in May 2012, Assange interviewed President Rafael Correa for his The World Tomorrow television program.

"We have nothing to hide," Correa said at the time, in response to a question from Assange as to why he wanted Wikileaks to release all of the American embassy cables, including those from the Latin American state. "If anything, Wikileaks has made us stronger, as the main accusations made by the embassy were due to our excessive nationalism and defense of the sovereignty of the Ecuadorian government. Indeed, we are nationalists, indeed we defend the sovereignty of our country."

The interview closed with President Correa half-joking with Assange, saying, "Welcome to the club of the persecuted!" and Assange responding, oddly, "Don’t get assassinated."