This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was made an Ecuadorian citizen last month, the nation’s foreign ministry has revealed, in an attempt to resolve the political impasse over his continued presence in the UK.

The 46-year-old has been naturalised after living for five and a half years in the cramped, Latin American country’s embassy in Knightsbridge, central London.

Earlier this week the UK’s Foreign Office revealed that Ecuador had asked for Assange, who was born in Australia, to be accredited as a diplomat. The request was dismissed.



The Ecuadorian initiative was intended to confer legal immunity on Assange, allowing him to slip out of the embassy and Britain without being arrested for breaching his former bail conditions.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Julian Assange posted this picture of himself in an Ecuadorian football shirt on Twitter. Photograph: Twitter

Assange failed to surrender to the UK authorities in 2012 after the supreme court rejected his appeal against extradition to Sweden to face accusations of sexual crimes, including rape. He was granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy.

Swedish prosecutors last year unexpectedly dropped their investigation into allegations against him, which he denied. WikiLeaks, however, fears that the US will seek his extradition if he leaves the embassy, believing there is a sealed US indictment seeking his arrest.

At a press conference on Thursday in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, the foreign minister, María Fernanda Espinosa, explained that Assange had sought citizenship and that it had been granted on 12 December last year.

“The Ecuadorian government is empowered to grant nationality to the protected person and thus facilitate ... his inclusion in the host state,�? Espinosa told reporters.

Assange’s life could be under threat from other states, she warned, adding that she was seeking a “dignified and just�? solution to his situation with Britain.



On Wednesday evening, the UK Foreign Office put out a statement explaining that: “The government of Ecuador recently requested diplomatic status for Mr Assange here in the UK. The UK did not grant that request, nor are we in talks with Ecuador on this matter. Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice.�?

At the same time Assange appeared on his Twitter account for the first time wearing an Ecuadorian national football shirt.



A statement by Assange’s legal team said: “The UN ruling, issued almost two years ago, is crystal clear in its language. [He] is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained by the UK authorities and must be released. The UK should not permit itself to be intimidated by the Trump administration’s public threats to ‘take down’ Mr Assange.�?



</s>Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in its London embassy for more than five years.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador's foreign minister, told reporters on Thursday that the South American country accepted Assange's application for naturalisation in December.

"What naturalisation does is provide the asylum seeker another layer of protection," she told reporters in Quito.

The Australian-born activist took refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in the UK capital in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, amid fears that he would have been handed over to the US to face prosecution over the publication of classified military and diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks.

He was wanted in Sweden for questioning over rape accusations. Prosecutors there dropped the case last year, but Assange remained in the embassy after British police said he would still be arrested for violating bail conditions.

Assange posted a photograph of himself wearing a yellow Ecuadorean national soccer team jersey on Twitter on Wednesday.

Espinosa said Ecuador had asked the UK to grant diplomatic status to Assange in a bid to secure immunity and safe passage, but the request was rejected.

The UK's Foreign Office, in a statement earlier in the day, said, "Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice".

Espinosa said the issue was not about Assange facing British law, but "founded fears that we have about possible risks to the life and integrity of citizen Assange, not necessarily from the United Kingdom, but possibly by third states".

Ecuador was obliged to give him protection as "long as the life, integrity of this protected person could be at risks and danger," she said, adding that her government was exploring other options to resolve the seven-year standoff.</s>Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after more than five years of living in asylum at the nation's embassy in London, officials have announced.

Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after more than five years of living in asylum at the nation's embassy in London, officials have announced.

Foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said officials accepted Mr Assange's request for naturalisation in December and they continue to look for a long-term resolution to a situation that has vexed officials since 2012.

"What naturalisation does is provide the asylum seeker another layer of protection," Ms Espinosa said. Ecuador gave Mr Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims.

Sweden dropped the case but Mr Assange has remained in the embassy because he is still subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail. He also fears a possible US extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents.

Australian-born Mr Assange posted a photograph of himself wearing a yellow Ecuadorean national football team jersey on Instagram on Wednesday and his name now appears in the Andean country's national registry. The new citizenship status, however, appears to change little for Mr Assange in the immediate future. He would still need to alert British authorities of any movement outside the embassy.

Ms Espinosa said Ecuador is trying to make Mr Assange a member of its diplomatic team, which would grant him additional rights under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, including special legal immunity and safe passage. Britain's Foreign Office said earlier on Thursday it has rejected Ecuador's request to grant him diplomatic status in the UK.

"Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice," the office said.

Ecuador has repeatedly urged Mr Assange not to interfere in the affairs of other countries following his frequent online comments on international issues. The biggest crisis came in October 2016 when the embassy cut his internet service after WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from then-US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign.

He was also a point of contention in Ecuador's 2017 presidential election. Conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso pledged to evict the Australian within 30 days of taking office while current President Lenin Moreno said he would allow him to stay.

Mr Assange later taunted after Mr Lasso's loss that he would "cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days". Mr Moreno issued a warning reminding Mr Assange not to meddle in politics. He has also called Assange a hacker.</s>ECUADOR HAS GRANTED citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been sheltering at its London embassy for five years to avoid arrest, Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa announced today.

Espinosa told a press conference in Quito that Assange, a 46-year-old Australian, became an Ecuadoran citizen on 12 December.

As a result, she said Ecuador had asked London to recognise Assange as a diplomat – which would give him safe passage out of the embassy without fear of arrest – but Britain had refused.

“The Ecuadoran government is empowered to grant nationality to the protected person and thus facilitate… his inclusion in the host state,” Espinosa told reporters.

She said the request to Britain to accept diplomatic status for Assange was made on 20 December, and denied a day later.

The foreign minister said Quito would not insist further on the issue because of the “good relations we have with the United Kingdom”.

The British foreign ministry said in a statement that Ecuador had “recently requested diplomatic status for Mr Assange here in the UK. The UK did not grant that request, nor are we in talks with Ecuador on this matter”.

Ecuador’s attempt to obtain diplomatic status for Assange comes as part of the country’s broader efforts to resolve the case of their long-term lodger, who moved into the embassy in 2012 to avoid arrest over a Swedish probe into rape allegations.

Sweden dropped their investigation over the 2010 allegations last year, but British police have said they are still seeking to arrest him for failing to surrender to a court after violating bail terms.

“Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice,” Britain’s foreign ministry said today.

Assange has refused to step outside the embassy and claimed he fears being extradited to the United States, over WikiLeaks’ publication of leaked secret US military documents and diplomatic cables in 2010.

Espinosa had said on Tuesday her government was looking at the possibility of a “third country or a personality” stepping in to resolve the stand-off.

“No solution will be achieved without international cooperation and the cooperation of the United Kingdom, which has also shown interest in seeking a way out,” she said.

Read: Assange asks Sweden to drop arrest warrant so that he can fly to Ecuador</s>Ecuador says it has granted citizenship to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, as officials try to find a way for him to leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London without risking legal action.

Assange, who is Australian, first sought refuge at the embassy more than five years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced an investigation over rape allegations. He was granted asylum, and has been holed up in the embassy ever since.

The original case against him has been dropped, but Assange remains inside the embassy. "He is still subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail," The Associated Press notes. "He also fears a possible U.S. extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents."

"Earlier this week, Ecuador said the situation was unsustainable and requested diplomatic status for Assange in hopes of springing him," NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from London. "A British government spokesman responded: 'Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice.' "

Reuters has more on Ecuadorean efforts to assist Assange, as described by officials on Thursday:



" 'Ecuador is currently exploring other solutions in dialogue with the UK, like good offices of renowned authorities, other states, or international organizations that could facilitate a just, final and dignified solution for all parties,' Ecuador's foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa told a press conference. ... " 'There are well-founded fears we have about possible risks to his life and integrity, not necessarily by the UK but by third party states,' Espinosa said. "She did not give details on how granting Assange citizenship might help in avoiding his arrest by British police. ... "For some, Assange is a cyber hero for exposing government abuses of power and championing free speech but to others he is a criminal who has undermined the security of the West by exposing secrets.



Earlier this week Assange "fueled speculation he'd received an Ecuadorean passport," Frank notes, "by posting a photo on Twitter wearing a jersey of the Ecuadorean national soccer team."</s>The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has been granted Ecuadorian citizenship following five years of stay at the country’s Embassy in London.

Assange was formally “naturalized” on December 12m 2017. He has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, avoiding an arrest warrant issued in Sweden and to avoid extradition to the United States.

Ecuador has considered giving Assange a diplomatic status to allow him to leave the Embassy in London, but the UK is pushing back at the suggestion. Assange’s residence has not always been unproblematic for Ecuador, as for example when he voiced open support for Catalan independence,</s>Speaking at a news conference in Quito, Espinosa said Assange was granted naturalization on December 12.

She called the measure "one more ring of protection" for Assange, who has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 in an effort to avoid a Swedish arrest warrant on rape allegations -- a charge he has always denied. Sweden dropped the charges in May 2017, but Assange remains the subject of a UK arrest warrant.

Assange, 46, has previously expressed concern that if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London he could end up being extradited to the US, where he fears facing the death penalty over allegations of revealing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

Espinosa said that in December, the Ecuadorian government requested diplomatic status for Assange, pointing out that his Ecuadorian naturalization reinforces his status as "protected."

But the UK rebuffed the request.

"The Government of Ecuador recently requested diplomatic status for Mr. Assange here in the UK. The UK did not grant that request, nor are we in talks with Ecuador on this matter. Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.

In a briefing Tuesday, Espinosa said Ecuador will continue to pursue a dialogue with the UK to eventually remove Assange from the embassy. She added that Ecuador was exploring the possibility of third-country mediation.

"We will continue to protect Julian Assange while his physical and psychological integrity are at risk," Espinosa said. "We are a country that defends human rights and additionally, a country that respects international law."

A 2016 United Nations report concluded that the WikiLeaks founder had been arbitrarily detained by Sweden and the United Kingdom. Assange's legal team has called on UK and Swedish authorities to end his "deprivation of liberty, respect his physical integrity and freedom of movement, and afford him the right to compensation."

"The UN ruling, issued almost two years ago, is crystal clear in its language, Mr Assange is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained by the UK authorities and must be released," Assange's legal team said on Twitter.

"We believe Julian Assange's situation, from a human perspective, is not sustainable. A person cannot live in these conditions forever. And we are very respectively looking with the United Kingdom to find mechanisms that lead to a solution," Espinosa added.</s>Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the South American nation’s foreign minister announced Thursday, in a bid to resolve an “unsustainable” situation at its embassy in London, where Assange sought refuge more than five years ago.

But a standoff with British authorities continued, as the Foreign Office rejected an Ecuadoran request that it grant diplomatic status to Assange, insisting instead that the Australian national “leave the embassy to face justice.”

Ecuador’s foreign minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, subsequently said that Assange would not leave the embassy in the absence of security guarantees. She said in a news conference Thursday in Quito, the Ecuadoran capital, that Assange was granted citizenship on Dec. 12, after having applied for it in September.

Espinosa also said that Ecuador was concerned about potential threats to Assange’s life from unspecified other nations and was looking for a “dignified” exit from the stalemate in London.

[Assange says CIA is waging “war on free speech” ]

Assange, who angered the U.S. government when his anti-secrecy organization published troves of classified documents obtained from a U.S. Army intelligence analyst in 2010, sought refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was sought in an investigation of alleged sexual offenses. Sweden later dropped the case, but Assange remained ensconced in the embassy because he still faced arrest by British authorities for jumping bail.

He also is said to fear extradition to the United States, where the Trump administration’s Justice Department is weighing whether to charge him for his role in publishing the secret documents obtained from the Army intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning, who was then known as Bradley Manning.

News of the Ecuadoran move to grant Assange citizenship emerged Wednesday when the Ecuadoran newspaper El Universo reported that, according to the country’s civil register, he had been assigned an identity number. The daily reported that Assange also may have been issued a passport.

The Ecuadoran Foreign Ministry at first responded that it would not address “rumors or distorted or out-of-context information,” Germany’s DPA news agency reported.

Espinosa, the Ecuadoran foreign minister, said Tuesday that her country was trying to resolve a situation she described as “unsustainable.”

Assange has been living in a small office at the country’s London Embassy, which gave him asylum in August 2012. He had surrendered to British police in December 2010, a month after Sweden requested his extradition, and was held for 10 days before he was released on bail.

But when his challenge to the extradition request was rejected, he jumped bail and became a fugitive, turning up at the Ecuadoran Embassy.

Assange was given asylum by Ecuador’s then-president, Rafael Correa, a fiery leftist and fierce critic of Washington who once expelled both the U.S. ambassador and the U.S. Agency for International Development from his country.

However, Correa was succeeded last year by his former vice president, Lenin Moreno, who has sought to put Ecuador on a more moderate path. The new president also became involved in a public spat with Assange over the WikiLeaks founder’s vocal support for Catalan separatists in Spain.

The Washington Post reported in April 2017 that federal prosecutors were weighing whether to bring criminal charges against members of WikiLeaks, revisiting the 2010 publication of U.S. diplomatic cables and military documents and investigating the organization’s more recent revelation of sensitive CIA cyber-tools.

Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department decided not to charge WikiLeaks for revealing some of the government’s most sensitive secrets on grounds that doing so would be like prosecuting a news organization for publishing classified information. But the Trump Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions has indicated that it may take a different view.

Julian Assange is squabbling with Ecuador’s new president. That could put his London refuge at risk.

Why WikiLeaks and Julian Assange hate the WikiLeaks movie

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news</s>The Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says they have granted naturalization to Julian Assange. The reaction of the MFA comes one day after Quito reportedly granted an ID card to Assange.

The passport could obtain his first step to obtaining diplomatic immunity, as Ecuador wants to resolve Assange’s indefinite embassy stay. The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for five years.

The UK Foreign Office reportedly rejected a request from Quito to grant the whistle-blower diplomatic status. The passport was reportedly granted to him on December 12.

Ecuador’s foreign minister Guillaume Long, says the country is seeking a “dignified and just” solution with the UK government over Assange’s case. He added that Assange will not leave Ecuador’s embassy while there are no security guarantees.

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said, according to the Express: “The government of Ecuador recently requested diplomatic status for Mr Assange here in the UK. The UK did not grant that request, nor are we in talks with Ecuador on this matter.”

“Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice.”

It comes after Mr Assange posted a picture of himself in an Ecuadorian football shirt amid unconfirmed reports he had been issued an Ecuadorian passport.

Ecuador usually issues such ID cards for people claiming residency status, which are called cedulas. The Vienna convention on diplomatic relations states that someone who holds a diplomatic passport is immune from prosecution. It is still no guarantee, however.

Assange has been living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, when he was accused of sexual assault in Sweden. Although Swedish prosecutors have since dropped the charges, British police remain outside the embassy ready to arrest the WikiLeaks co-founder for breaking his 2012 bail conditions. Assange refuses to surrender to the British authorities, fearing they would extradite him to the United States where he expects to be prosecuted for his whistleblowing activities.</s>Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after more than five years of living in asylum at the nation's embassy in London, officials announced Thursday.

Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said officials accepted Assange's request for naturalization in December, and they continue to look for a long-term resolution to a situation that has vexed officials since 2012.

"What naturalization does is provide the asylum seeker another layer of protection," Espinosa said.

Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange has remained in the embassy because he is still subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.

He also fears a possible U.S. extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents.

The Australian-born Assange posted a photograph of himself wearing a yellow Ecuadorean national soccer team jersey on Instagram Wednesday and his name now appears in the Andean country's national registry.

The new citizenship status, however, appears to change little for Assange in the immediate future. He would still need to alert British authorities of any movement outside the embassy.

"Even if he has two or three nationalities, the United Kingdom will continue in its efforts against him," said Fredy Rivera, an expert in foreign affairs at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Ecuador.

Espinosa said Ecuador is trying to make Assange a member of its diplomatic team, which would grant him additional rights under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, including special legal immunity and safe passage.

Britain's Foreign Office said earlier Thursday it has rejected Ecuador's request to grant him diplomatic status in the U.K.

"Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice," the office said.

Though protected by Ecuador, the relationship between Assange and nation's leaders has at times been dicey. Ecuador has repeatedly urged Assange not to interfere in the affairs of other countries following his frequent online comments on international issues.

The biggest crisis came in October 2016, when the embassy cut his internet service after WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from then-U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign.

He was also a point of contention in Ecuador's 2017 presidential election. Conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso pledged to evict the Australian within 30 days of taking office, while current President Lenin Moreno said he would allow him to stay. Assange later taunted after Lasso's loss that he would "cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days."

Moreno issued a warning reminding Assange not to meddle in politics. He has also called Assange a hacker.
It is revealed that Ecuador granted citizenship to Julian Assange. Ecuador granted him asylum in August 2012 and he has remained in the Embassy of Ecuador in London avoiding extradition to Sweden on rape charges. Subsequently, Swedish authorities dropped the charges in May 2017.