Ecuador 'expresses concern' to Foreign Office over Julian Assange case

Updated

Ecuador's ambassador in London has met a Foreign Office minister and expressed concern over the Government's position on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Carlos Abad spent over half an hour with Hugo Swire to discuss the case of the WikiLeaks founder, who has been staying at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for over three years.

He is wanted for questioning in Sweden over a sex allegation, which he denies, but believes, if he goes, he will be extradited to the United States over the activities of WikiLeaks.

Today's meeting was the first of its kind since a United Nations working group said it believed Mr Assange was being "arbitrarily detained".

Ecuador's ambassador said: "At the meeting with minister Hugo Swire, I made it clear that Ecuador wishes to resolve the situation of Julian Assange, within a framework of respect for the United Nation's International System of Human Rights.

"I expressed our concern, shared by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, that to act in contravention of the UN resolution on the Julian Assange case sets a negative precedent within the international community.

"I was also able to clarify that Ecuador has not stood in the way of the judicial proceedings requested by the Swedish prosecutor who, for her part, has not yet complied with the standard procedures for international judicial cooperation outlined in the recently signed bilateral agreement between Sweden and Ecuador."

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