Julian Assange Arrested After Ecuador President Accused Him Of Fuelling Corruption Charges Against Him
Moreno took over office in 2017 and believed that Assange was allegedly fuelling corruption allegations against him.
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on April 11. Assange had taken refuge in the embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.
It has been reported that the sudden arrest was due to a long deterioration in relations between him and the Ecuadorian embassy. Assange had taken refuge in the embassy during the government of former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa who called him a 'hero' for leaking confidential documents of the United States.
Photo: Twitter
However, the current President Lenin Moreno was suspicious about his activities. Moreno assumed office in 2017 and believed that Assange was allegedly fuelling corruption allegations against him.
Moreno had asked Assange to stop his online political commentary, stop riding his skateboard in the halls of the embassy and clean up after his pet cat, Reuters reported. He even went on to accuse Wikileaks for being behind an anonymous website that claimed Moreno's brother had created offshore companies that his family used to fund a luxurious lifestyle in Europe while Moreno was a delegate to a U.N. agency.
BREAKING: #JulianAssange has been arrested. UK police was allowed to enter the embassy by Ecuador.
¡ª Partisangirl ?? (@Partisangirl) April 11, 2019
Ecuador blatantly lied about having no plans to betray him. pic.twitter.com/zBhkwEBuDI
While WikiLeaks tweeted about the reports, they denied Assange¡¯s role in it. The leaked material included private photographs of Moreno and his family, the President denied any wrongdoing in the case. After the release of the materials, Moreno said that Assange had no right to "hack private accounts and phones," without directly accusing him.
Photo: Reuters
The government even criticized Assange¡¯s behaviour in the embassy and accused him of using a mobile phone that was not registered with the embassy.
Foreign Minister Jose Valencia even said that the cleaning staff has described ¡°improper hygiene conduct¡± during his stay. Ever since Moreno has assumed charge, friends of Assange said that the entire Embassy staff had been replaced.
We're calling on the UK to refuse to extradite Assange to the US, where there is a real risk he could face #humanrights violations, inc. detention conditions that would violate the prohibition of torture & an unfair trial followed by possible execution --> https://t.co/GcVrnoqIsP
¡ª Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) April 11, 2019
Playing loud music, stalling security camera with a studio lamp were some of the complaints that the Embassy had against Assange. U.S. officials announced after his arrest on Thursday that he had been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, paving the way for his extradition.
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