AFP, London :
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven-year stay at Ecuador’s embassy in London came to an abrupt end on Thursday when police entered the building and arrested him after Ecuador withdrew his asylum.
Assange has been living at the embassy in London’s plush Knightsbridge district since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden-allegations that have since been dropped.
Footage shot by Ruptly, a video news agency, showed a frantic-looking Assange, with a large
white beard, being carried down the embassy steps by several men into a police van.
“I can confirm that Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK,” British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said on Twitter.
“No one is above the law,” he wrote, thanking Ecuador for its “cooperation” in the long-running case.
WikiLeaks accused Ecuador of breaching international law by withdrawing his asylum and said the country’s ambassador to London had “invited” police into the embassy building to carry out the arrest.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven-year stay at Ecuador’s embassy in London came to an abrupt end on Thursday when police entered the building and arrested him after Ecuador withdrew his asylum.
Assange has been living at the embassy in London’s plush Knightsbridge district since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden-allegations that have since been dropped.
Footage shot by Ruptly, a video news agency, showed a frantic-looking Assange, with a large
white beard, being carried down the embassy steps by several men into a police van.
“I can confirm that Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK,” British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said on Twitter.
“No one is above the law,” he wrote, thanking Ecuador for its “cooperation” in the long-running case.
WikiLeaks accused Ecuador of breaching international law by withdrawing his asylum and said the country’s ambassador to London had “invited” police into the embassy building to carry out the arrest.
