It’s a move against democracy -Moscow
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Assange took refuge in the embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.
The Met Police said he was arrested for failing to surrender to the court.
Ecuador’s president Lenin Moreno said it withdrew Assange’s asylum after his repeated violations to international conventions.
Key dates in the WikiLeaks founder’s case
2010
31 August: Swedish police question Assange about two separate allegations – one of rape and one of molestation – which he denies.
18 November: An international arrest warrant is issued so Assange can be questioned on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
7 December: Assange presents himself to police in London and is remanded in custody after a hearing.
16 December: He is later granted conditional bail at the high court, bankrolled by his supporters who pay £240,000.
2011
2 November: Assange loses an appeal to extradite him to Sweden; a judge denies it would violate his human rights.
2012
19 June: Assange enters the Ecuadorian embassy in London, requesting political asylum. Scotland Yard confirms he is subject to arrest for breaching his bail conditions.
16 August: He is granted political asylum by Ecuador.
19 August: Assange emerges on the Ecuadorian embassy’s balcony and calls for the US government to “renounce its witch hunt” against WikiLeaks.
20 December: He again appears to say “the door is open” for talks to avoid extradition to Sweden.
2013
13 June: Assange tells journalists he will not leave the embassy even if sex charges against him are dropped, due to fears he will be extradited to the US.
2014
16 July: A judge in Stockholm upholds the arrest warrant against him for alleged sexual offences against two women. He later loses an appeal.
2015
13 March: Swedish prosecutors ask to question him at the embassy.
13 August: Investigations into some of the sex allegations are dropped due to time restrictions. The investigation into suspected rape remains active.
16 August: The UK Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire says Ecuador’s decision to harbour Assange in its embassy has prevented the proper course of justice. He restates the UK’s legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden.
12 October: The Metropolitan police end their three-year long, 24-hour guard outside the embassy. It is estimated to have cost more than £12m.
2016
5 February: The UN working group on arbitrary detention says Assange is being “arbitrarily detained”, and calls on authorities to end his “deprivation of liberty”. The following month, the UK government asks for a review, saying the opinion was “deeply flawed” – this is later rejected.
20 June: Ecuador reveals the Swedish authorities have officially requested to interview Assange.
9 August: Assange files an appeal to a Swedish court, arguing the country must comply with the UN working group’s findings.
14 November: Assange is questioned over the remaining sex allegation at the Ecuadorian embassy by Swedish authorities in a two-day interview.
The Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren arrives at the Ecuadorian embassyin November 2016
2017
17 January: Barack Obama’s decision to free the whistleblower Chelsea Manning prompts speculation Assange will end his self-imposed exile.
19 January: Assange tells a press conference that he stands by his offer to go to the US, provided his rights are respected.
9 March: The former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is spotted leaving the embassy.
21 April: The then US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, says Assange’s arrest is a priority for the US.
19 May: Swedish authorities suddenly drop the investigation into an allegation of rape.
2018
11 January: The UK Foreign Office turns down a request from the Ecuadorian government to grant Assange diplomatic status. Ecuador confirms it granted citizenship to Assange in December at his request.
13 February: Westminster magistrates court upholds Assange’s arrest warrant for skipping bail. A judge urges him to show the “courage” to appear in court.
28 March: The Ecuadorian embassy suspends Assange’s internet access, complaining he interfered with other states’ affairs.
9 August: The US Senate committee asks to interview Assange as part of its investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
19 October: Assange accuses Ecuador of violating his “fundamental rights and freedoms”.
16 November: The US Department of Justice inadvertently names Assange in a court document, suggesting he may have been charged in secret.
2019
23 January: Lawyers for Assange say they are taking action aimed at making President Donald Trump’s administration reveal “secretly filed” charges.
5 April: There are conflicting reports over whether Assange is to be expelled from the embassy.
11 April: Assange is arrested at the embassy in London after his diplomatic status is revoked.
Meanwhile, Russia slammed arrest of WikiLeaks founder describing it as a move against democratic freedoms and called on London to respect his rights.
“The hand of ‘democracy’ is strangling freedom,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Facebook after British police arrested Assange at Ecuador’s embassy in London.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed hope that the WikiLeaks founder’s rights would be respected.
Asked if Russia was ready to give Assange asylum, Peskov sidestepped the question but told journalists: “We certainly hope that all his rights will be respected.”
British police arrested Assange after his asylum was withdrawn. He had been living at the embassy since 2012 when he sought refuge there.
BBC/AFP/The Guardian
