WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was been removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday and taken under arrest. Thought the action was taken by British police after Ecuador revoked the asylum it had offered Assange since 2012, the statement read to him at the time of arrest indicated that Assange was being held “on behalf of the United States.”
Via a Twitter statement, the President of Ecuador indicated that asylum had been withdrawn from Assange for “repeatedly violating international conventions and protocol of coexistence.“ In a video statement, the Ecuadorian president stated that WikiLeaks had threatened the government of Ecuador in the last two days.
Assange was initially granted his refuge status in 2012 after he was charged with sexual assault in Sweden. He claimed those charges were political, and that the Swedes actually intended to hand him over to the United States at that time, to face charges related to leaking secret documents including diplomatic cables and files on Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Sweden has since allowed the extradition order to expire, but has not withdrawn the charges against Assange.
It’s not known if this action is at all related to WikiLeaks involvement in the 2016 election and it’s cooperation with Russian agents in publishing stolen emails from Democratic officials. According to a previous article at Lawfare, a series of sealed charges may have been filed against Assange in 2018. Assange may have been charged with dealing with stolen property, or he may face “conspiracy against the United States” charges that are similar to those filed against the Russian operatives.
It’s also unclear who will take charge of Assange, or whether any testimony he provides will be used in connection with the already filed report from the special counsel’s office.