Refuge In Embassy

The WikiLeaks founder and spokesman Julian Assange is in self imposed house arrest in the Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid arrest and subsequent extradition to Sweden.Here is what happened lately.

Julian Assange, the name needs no introduction,his cable leaks have resulted in governments across the globe finding themselves upside-down,pushed them on the very defensive.But Mr.Assange aka whistleblower is on the run ever since criminal charges were framed against him.There is also an Interpol 'red notice' over his whereabouts.

Since December 2010, Assange has been subject to a European Arrest Warrant in response to a Swedish police request for questioning in relation to a rape and sexual assault investigation,alleged by two different women.And since June 2012, he has been residing in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has since been granted the diplomatic asylum.The British government intends to extradite Assange to Sweden under that arrest warrant if he leaves the embassy, which Assange says he fears may result in his subsequent extradition to the United States of America to face charges over the diplomatic cables case.He termed the sexual charges against him as ‘fake’ so that the US authorities gets time to prepare for prosecution and subsequently extraditing him from Sweden.

Britain said it were disappointed on the grant of political asylum to Assange while Swedish spurned it as absurd.Ecuador said in a press release that the decision to grant political asylum was an independent one and that he will be staying inside the Ecuadorian Embassy indefinitely.Meanwhile,the Brithish authorities said they are still bound to extradite Assange to Sweden,an arrest would be made the moment he puts his toe outside the embassy.

For the time being he is safe,thanks to Ecuador granting of asylum to him and might have to live there for a decade.