Ecuador Has Cut Off Julian Assange's Internet Access At Their London Embassy

Assange’s internet connection cut following ‘agreement breach’ – Ecuador

The Ecuadoran government said Wednesday it had suspended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications with "the outside", in a reference to its London Embassy, where the Australian national has been residing since 2012.

Officials announced Wednesday they were taking the measure in response to Mr Assange's recent activity on social media.

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012, where he went to elude arrest by Swedish authorities who wanted to question him on sexual assault allegations.

Sweden dropped its probe a year ago, but British authorities say they still want to arrest him for breaching his bail conditions.

Assange also questioned the decision by Britain and more than 20 countries to retaliate against the poisoning by expelling Russian diplomats deemed spies.

As part of an agreement between Mr Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries.

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The Ecuadorean government is anxious that Assange's use of social media can hurt the "good relations the country keeps with the United Kingdom, other countries in the European Union and other nations", and said it was prepared to take further actions if Assange keeps breaking his commitment.

Assange says the real reason for his legal troubles is the fact that WikiLeaks published USA diplomatic and military secrets, and fears that if he leaves the embassy he risks being extradited to the United States.

Assange's internet access was also interrupted in 2016 after a WikiLeaks dump targeting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. While that investigation was dropped a year ago, England has refused to guarantee Assange's safe passage out of the cramped embassy, and he's long feared that he may be extradited to the United States for publishing confidential and classified information.

Lenin Moreno, who took office in May 2017, has called Assange "a hacker".

Ecuador in December made Assange an Ecuadoran citizen and unsuccessfully tried to register him as a diplomat with immunity as part of its efforts to have the WikiLeaks founder leave the embassy without risk of being detained.

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