Julian Assange fears he will be thrown out of the Ecuadorean embassy after seven years
Friend and journalist Vaughan Smith says the WikiLeaks founder is 'very stressed' at the prospect of being kicked out of the embassy
JULIAN Assange “expects” he will be thrown out of the Ecuadorean embassy amid rumours from WikiLeaks that he would be expelled and arrested.
The anti-secrecy organisation said “high ranking sources” in Ecuador had revealed Mr Assange could be removed from the building "within hours to days".
The website, which publishes classified info from anonymous sources, claimed, officials from Ecuador and the UK have struck a secret deal and he would immediately be arrested by Met cops.
It also said Mr Assange could be removed from the building for “repeatedly violating” the terms of his asylum.
Wikileaks denied the claims but Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno claimed Mr Assange had posted pictures online of his bedroom and what he eats and had violated their agreement.
The tweet, posted on Thursday, said: “A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told that Julian Assange will be expelled within ‘hours to days’ using the offshore scandal as a pretext–and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.”
TENSE ATMOSPHERE
Friend and journalist Vaughan Smith spoke outside the Ecuadorean embassy after he visited Julian.
He said: “It is very unclear. I am convinced that Julian expects to be thrown out.
“I don’t think he’s entirely clear about what’s going on but he is certainly very stressed and prepared that that might happen.”
He described the atmosphere inside the embassy as “tense”.
I don’t think he’s entirely clear about what’s going on but he is certainly very stressed and prepared that that might happen.
Vaughan Smith
The ambassador for Ecuador, Jamie Marchán, last night said there was “no change” in Julian Assange's position and it is an “offence to Ecuador” to suggest officials would remove him.
A statement from Mr Assange's legal team read: "Expelling Julian Assange would be illegal, violate international refugee law and be an attack on the UN which has repeatedly called for Assange to be able to walk free.
"It will be a sad day for democracy if the UK and Ecuadorean governments are willing to act as accomplices to the Trump administration's determination to prosecute a publisher for publishing truthful information."
PRISON GUARDS
Assange has been in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012 after he sought refuge after a British judge ruled he should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.
A WikiLeaks spokesman told The Times that Julian’s relationship with the Ecuadoreans has deteriorated so much he has prison guards at his flat within the embassy.
Speaking outside the embassy yesterday he said the guards had been there for “months”.
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Kristinn Hrafnsson Said: “It is imminent. That is according to our sources.”
He added that handing over Mr Assange would breach the terms of his asylum and that the embassy had become an “extremely hostile environment”.
Hrafnsson, who last saw Assange on Thursday, said the Australian had been “persecuted”.
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