Ecuador presidential hopeful will evict Julian Assange from embassy
Ecuador presidential hopeful has promised to evict WikiLeaks’ boss, Julian Assange from the embassy. He has been hiding in Ecuador’s London building since summer 2012.
Julian Assange will be given a month’s notice to leave the embassy if the country’s main opposition candidate wins the presidency elections next week. And the existing government isn’t happy with Assange’s stay, which is intended as a way of him avoiding extradition to Sweden for questioning regarding a sexual assault allegation. Assange has maintained that if he travels to Sweden to defend himself, he will risk being extradited to the US to face trial over the Iraq war leaks.
Ecuador’s foreign minister, Guillaume Long in an interview with The Guardian appeared to be in agreement, stating that “our staff have been through a lot. There is a human cost.”
He went on to compare the situation at the embassy to ‘something out of a John le Carré novel.’
However, it appears that Lasso might not get the opportunity to fulfil his pledge, as he is seven points behind the ruling Country Alliance party's candidate, Lenín Moreno.
The first round of voting will take place on February 19, candidates require at least 40 per cent of the vote, with a 10 per cent margin to win at the first round.
