Assange Seeks Asylum at Ecuador’s London Embassy

Move Aimed at Forestalling Extradition to Sweden

With Britain’s Supreme Court ruling last week that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be extradited to Sweden, pending a last ditch appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, the whistleblower has found his way into the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seeking political asylum.

Assange’s extradition to Sweden is not explicitly political in nature, rather he is wanted on sexual assault charges. There is more than a little concern from Assange’s legal team that his extradition to Sweden is being sought primarily to transfer him into US custody, where he might face open-ended detention or execution for whistleblowing actions.

Ecuador has confirmed Assange’s request for asylum, and says he will remain in the embassy in London until their government has decided on the request. They gave no indication today which way they were leaning.

But President Correa appeared on Assange’s television program on RT in April, and some have speculated that the two may have had an opportunity to discuss the possibility to Ecuador being a “safe haven” in talks relating to that appearance.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.