WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the British capital on Thursday by London’s Metropolitan police, according to CNN. Assange was arrested after Ecuador dropped his status, evicting him from their embassy.Assange had been at the embassy sine August 2012, due to fear of being arrested and extradited to the United States for publishing classified military information through WikiLeaks.
Image Source: Irish Times
According to the police, Assange was arrested “on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 29 June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court.” 47-year-old Assange is facing at least one computer hacking charge, according to the publication. The police said they were “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government’s withdrawal of asylum.”
Ecuador’s government said they dropped it’s protection of Assange, “for repeatedly violating international conventions and protocol of coexistence.” Assange was granted protection by Ecuador in 2012 when he was facing sex crime allegations in Sweden that according to the WikiLeaks founder, was a way to extradite him to the U.S. Though that case as since been dropped, he was still due for an arrest for avoiding the warrant.