LONDON, UK — Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum.

Assange's attorney Jennifer Robinson also said her client had been arrested on an extradition request from the United States as well as on charges of breaching his bail conditions.

In a tweet, Robinson said Assange "has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request."

The U.S. Justice Department inadvertently revealed the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange in a court filing last year. It's not clear what he's been accused of.

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked a trove of classified material to WikiLeaks, was jailed last month after she refused to testify before a grand jury.

In a statement Thursday, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said: "We are aware of the reports that Julian Assange was taken into custody by United Kingdom authorities."

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange's status for repeated violations of international conventions. Moreno described it as a "sovereign decision" due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life."

Assange took refuge in the embassy in London in 2012 and has been holed up inside ever since.

"Today I announce that that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable," Moreno said in a video statement released on Twitter.

Police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Video posted online by Ruptly, the agency wing of Russia Today, showed about five to six men in suits forcibly escorting Assange out of the embassy building, surrounding him as he staggered down the steps and boarded a police van.

Police said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuador government's withdrawal of Assange's asylum.

Assange had not come out of the embassy for years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange "is no hero and no one is above the law."

His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against Assange.

WikiLeaks claims meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

WikiLeaks said in a tweeted statement that Ecuador illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

FILE- In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File) </s> Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, is set to be expelled from Ecuador’s Embassy in London, his home for nearly six years, the muckraking group said today.

“A high-level source within the Ecuadorian state has told WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within ‘hours to days’ using the INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext -- and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest,” said WikiLeaks on Twitter, referring to documents allegedly implicating corruption by Ecuador’s president.

Assange will face arrest if he steps out, as a Metropolitan Police arrest warrant is still in force after Assange absconded after his release on bail in 2010.

Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy located in Knightsbridge, central London, for nearly six years after claiming diplomatic asylum in June 2012 after being wanted by Swedish prosecutors for questioning over various alleged sexual offenses.

Sweden since dropped the charges against him, but Assange remains in the embassy fearing extradition to the US on charges over WikiLeaks’ release of sensitive US government files.

He was supposed to be extradited to Stockholm by British authorities before entering the embassy. </s> Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks jail. He was arrested in London after being forcefully removed from the Ecuadorian embassy. The wikileaks founders now fears extradition to the United States to face charges of conspiracy.

Julian Assange has been jailed for 50 weeks for breaching his bail by gaining asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for seven years as he sought to evade sex charges in Sweden.

He raised his fist defiantly as he was led from Southwark Crown Court in London, while supporters erupted with anger from the public gallery and yelled “Shame on you!” to the court.

The WikiLeaks founder apologised to the court through an extraordinary letter, in which he spoke of being terrified of being taken to the US and persecuted for published sensitive intelligence cables.

The 47-year-old was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this month after his sensational arrest by Met Police detectives.

Prosecutor Aaron Watkins told Judge Deborah Taylor this was “plainly a category A1 case” — the most severe the charge could be — while Assange’s defence lawyer argued it was a much lesser breach due to the fear he had of being sent to the US.

A letter from Assange was read to the court in which the Australian said he was sorry for the trouble his action had caused, but claimed he did it because he was “struggling with terrifying circumstances and he “did what I thought was best”.

Medical records tendered to court showed his seven years in asylum has left him “sad, degraded and insecure” with moderate to severe depression.

Assange lawyer Mark Summers said the background to the charge was the WikiLeaks founder seeking asylum, which was a lawful act, and asked the judge to take into account the “extraordinary and difficult” situation — which was the fear of “removal from Sweden to American and even Guantanamo Bay”.

Mr Summers cited the arrest and treatment of Chelsea Manning — a US soldier arrested over the leaks of the sensitive cables — who he said was subjected to sleep deprivation and paraded naked in front of military officers. That fear was playing on Assange’s mind when he made the decision to skip bail, said the lawyer. “As far as Mr Assange was concerned, he was acutely aware US authorities were interested in him, if I could put it as diplomatically as I can.”

There was also a suggestion he could be forcibly “kidnapped” without the consent of the country he was in and taken to the US, Mr Summers told the court.

Assange was living in fear after the publication of sensitive WikiLeaks cables and “as the threats rained down on him”, they dominated his thoughts at the time he committed the breach of bail, the lawyer added.

The Queensland-born computer programmer feared if he went to Sweden, authorities there would quickly deliver him to the US, said Mr Summers.

The lawyer argued Assange should be sentenced on the basis he had a genuine fear of extradition.

In June 2012, he believed his extradition from Sweden to the US was “inevitable” so he “took the decision to seek refuge and seek asylum” at the Ecuadorean Embassy “to avoid persecution, solitary confinement and death penalty,” added Mr Summers.

“He believed he was exercising his legal rights,” said the lawyer. “He was faced with an impossible choice and he reacted accordingly.”

Assange was dragged from the embassy on April 11 after trying to barricade himself in his room at the embassy, where he told police: “This is unlawful.”

He also yelled, “the UK must resist!” as he was led out — a reference to the extradition plans of the US Government.

At the initial hearing, the judge branded him a “narcissist who couldn’t get beyond his own selfish interests” and deserved to be punished by the maximum sentence of 12 months.

Swedish prosecutors have said they are considering reopening their investigation into sexual assault allegations against him.

Asssange faces charges in the US, with the US Attorney’s Office issuing one count of conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Manning in the hacking of intelligence computers to expose intelligence operations in the United States.

There were concerns he could face the death penalty in the US if he were extradited and found guilty.

The extradition hearing will be held via video link at London’s Westminster Crown Court tomorrow.

The public gallery was packed full of supporters, and many more couldn’t get seats in court. Outside, hordes of supporters repeatedly called out “free Assange!”

The WikiLeaks founder has been incarcerated in Belmarsh prison in southeast London since his arrest.

The US accuses Assange of trying to help Manning hack a password on a Pentagon computer system before the release of 750,000 classified military and diplomatic documents on WikiLeaks. But the Justice Department has already failed to force Manning to testify before a grand jury about Assange, jailing her for contempt by refusing.

US authorities allege hacking the Pentagon password assisted in concealing Manning’s identity as Assange’s source for the military secrets abut the Iraq war.

“Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her,” reads the indictment against Assange. “Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures.”

The US application for Assange’s extradition has sparked controversy and protest by Assange supporters. Assange’s disappearance into the Ecuadorean embassy seven years ago came after a 2010 allegation of rape lodged by Swedish authorities.

Allegations by two Swedish women of sexual misconduct against them by Assange were dropped in 2015 after the statute of limitations expired.

But Sweden may lodge a new request as women’s groups pile pressure on British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to prioritise a Swedish application. </s> Julian Assange was arrested on Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

British police apprehended the WikiLeaks founder at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been claiming asylum since 2012.

Hoisted out of the embassy by local authorities, a full-bearded Assange could be heard pleading that the “UK must resist … this attempt by the Trump administration.”

He also appeared to be holding a copy of Gore Vidal’s “History of the National Security State”—a book about the establishment of the military-industrial-security complex and so-called “Imperial Presidency.”

The Metropolitan Police Service later confirmed Assange was “further arrested” on behalf of the US, under an extradition warrant.

“He is accused in the United States of America of computer-related offences,” the Home Office said in a statement.

The US indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, lists a single count of “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion,” and alleges that Assange worked with former U.S. Army soldier and whistleblower Chelsea Manning to obtain classified documents.

An extradition hearing will take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Assange first made international headlines in April 2010, when WikiLeaks published confidential reports provided by Chelsea Manning (then known as Bradley Manning), including Afghanistan and Iraq war logs.

He was granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012, in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault (which he denies). Assange has since been accused of aiding Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

In a video posted to Twitter, Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno distanced himself and his country from Assange, announcing that his “discourteous and aggressive behavior,” among other transgressions, “have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable.”

“Ecuador sovereignly has decided to terminate the diplomatic asylum granted to Mr. Assange in 2012,” Moreno continued, adding that Ecuador has “fulfilled its obligations in the framework of international law.”

“The patience of Ecuador has reached its limit on the behavior of Mr. Assange,” the president said. </s> LONDON (AP) - Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum.

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange's status for repeated violations of international conventions. Moreno described it as a "sovereign decision" due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life."

Assange took refuge in the embassy in London in 2012 and has been holed up inside ever since.

"Today I announce that that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable," Moreno said in a video statement released on Twitter.

Police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Video posted online by Ruptly, the agency wing of Russia Today, showed about five to six men in suits forcibly escorting Assange out of the embassy building, surrounding him as he staggered down the steps and boarded a police van.

Police said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuador government's withdrawal of Assange's asylum.

Assange had not come out of the embassy for years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange "is no hero and no one is above the law."

His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against Assange.

WikiLeaks claims meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

WikiLeaks said in a tweeted statement that Ecuador illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

A police vehicle parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

A police car parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP) </s> LONDON — Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who released reams of secret documents that embarrassed the United States government, was arrested by the British police on Thursday at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he had lived for years, after Ecuador withdrew the asylum it had granted him seven years ago.

President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador said on Twitter that his country had taken the decision to revoke the asylum status that it had granted to Mr. Assange after “his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols,” a decision that cleared the way for the British authorities to detain him.

The relationship between Mr. Assange and Ecuador has been a rocky one, even as it offered him refuge, and WikiLeaks said last Friday that Ecuador “already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest” and predicted that Mr. Assange would be expelled from the embassy “within ‘hours to days.’ ”

The United States Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Mr. Assange, 47, related to the publication of classified documents, a fact that prosecutors accidentally made public in November. </s> WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged by the US Justice Department with receiving and publishing classified information.

The charges are contained in an 18-count indictment announced on Thursday.

The new charges go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in a conspiracy to crack a Defence Department computer password.

The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents, including State Department cables and reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It says his actions "risked serious harm" to the United States.

The 47-year-old is in prison in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The US is seeking his extradition. </s> LONDON (AP) - Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012.

In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Assange hasn't left the embassy since August 2012 for fear that if he steps off Ecuador's diplomatic soil he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday May 19, 2017, watched by the media WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks out from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy prior to speaking, in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File) </s> Credit: Wikipedia Updated, 4/11/19, 7:44am PT: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has charged Julian Assange with "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer." The department also confirmed that Assange was arrested "pursuant to the U.S./UK Extradition Treaty" and that he will be extradited to the United States. Assange is accused of working with Chelsea Manning in 2010 to crack a password stored on a Department of Defense computer so Manning could provide WikiLeaks with classified documents. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but the DoJ noted that maximum penalties are rarely applied.



The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) announced today that it arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has lived in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, following Ecuador's withdrawal of his political asylum. MPS said in its announcement that Assange was "taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

MPS said it was invited into the embassy by Ecuador's ambassador to the United Kingdom. That hardly comes as a surprise: Reuters reported in October 2018 that Assange filed a "lawsuit challenging the Ecuadorean government requiring him to pay for medical bills [and] phone calls and clean up after his pet cat." The report also said that officials "complained of Assange riding a skateboard in the halls, of playing soccer on the grounds, and behaving aggressively with security personnel." Assange said the requirements and complaints were meant to force him to leave the embassy.

It turns out that Ecuador didn't need to find roundabout ways to get Assange to leave--it just had to withdraw his political asylum and let British police arrest him. That's exactly what happened today, with MPS arresting Assange in accordance with a warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates' Court in June 2012. We should note at the start that the warrant had nothing to do with Assange's connection to WikiLeaks, at least not directly. (His supporters will inevitably argue that any legal action against Assange is motivated by his publication of top-secret documents.)

Rather, the warrant was issued because shacking up in the Ecuadorian embassy violated the terms of Assange's bail. He originally sought refuge in the embassy because he feared that British police would extradite him to Sweden on sexual assault charges--which have since been dropped--and that he would then be extradited to the United States for his involvement with WikiLeaks. There is some basis to those fears: The New York Times reported in November 2018 that the U.S. had secretly filed charges against Assange; it's not clear with what exactly he has been charged.

Yet the original sexual assault investigation, Ecuador's withdrawal of Assange's political asylum, and today's arrest haven't been directly linked to the charges in the U.S. Nor have the governments of Ecuador, the UK, or Sweden indicated that they would extradite Assange to the U.S. as part of this years-long back-and-forth. We won't know if this arrest was truly just standard procedure or if it was part of a multinational conspiracy to get Assange to the U.S. until he has his day in court. That couldn't happen while he was safe in the embassy; now it can.

WikiLeaks, for its part, attempted to rally its supporters on Twitter by saying that "Ecuador has illegally [sic] terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law." It also linked to the Defend WikiLeaks web page, which purports to explain how the prosecution of Assange threatens U.S. journalism, and which also features a legal defense fund to which supporters of Assange and/or WikiLeaks can donate.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested in London after Ecuador withdraws asylum. He is later found guilty of breaching bail in 2012 by a British court, however he faces likely extradition to the United States over allegations he conspired with former US military analyst Chelsea Manning to acquire classified U.S. government files.