Julian Assange granted citizenship from Ecuador

by Melissa Quinn | Jan 11, 2018, 1:02 PM
Ecuador's foreign minister said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted citizenship from Ecuador last month. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)


WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted citizenship from Ecuador, according to reports.

Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 and was granted asylum from the country. Ecuador’s foreign minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, said Thursday that Assange was granted citizenship last month.

The WikiLeaks founder fled to the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, which was investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault against him. Swedish authorities eventually dropped the charges, but he could still be arrested in the United Kingdom for violating bail conditions.

Espinosa announced Tuesday that Ecuador was looking for ways to resolve Assange’s asylum situation, which the foreign minister called “unsustainable.”

The head of Ecuadorian diplomacy said the nation will continue to protect Assange.

The Ecuadorian government requested diplomatic status for Assange from the United Kingdom, but the request was denied.

A spokesperson with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said, “Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice.”
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