Ecuador to Britain: grant Assange safe passage

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s request for “safe passage” for medical treatment has been denied by the British government, Ecuador’s foreign minister said Wednesday.

Officers had been outside the embassy since Mr Assange sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation, which he denies.

The source of the pain is unknown, and can only be diagnosed with hospital equipment that cannot be brought into the embassy due to its size and weight, according to a letter from Assange’s doctor, which Patino quoted. But “it is no longer proportionate to commit officers to a permanent presence”. “We do not know what he might have, they usually do not need to give an authorization that they will completely properly give”.

For their part, Swedish prosecutors have had to drop all but one of their investigations into Assange’s conduct with two women in 2010 because the statute of limitations on molestation allegations has run out; an allegation of rape remains outstanding.

But authorities have apparently decided that the vigil is no longer worth it. Scotland Yard announced Monday that it was withdrawing its 24-hour presence at the embassy, which sits in one of London’s toniest neighborhoods, near the famous Harrods department store.

Assange has been at the embassy for three years because he fears he eventually could be sent to the United States and face charges related to the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks if he were to leave the embassy’s grounds.

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on October 12 that it would not permit the safe passage to the hospital.

“Like all public services, MPS resources are finite”.

“A significant amount of time has passed since Julian Assange entered the embassy, and despite the efforts of many people there is no imminent prospect of a diplomatic or legal resolution to this issue”, they added.

Swedish officials said in August that they hoped to reach a judicial cooperation deal with Ecuador by year’s end that would pave the way for prosecutors to question Assange. The WikiLeaks scandal exposed over hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.

Patino stressed that Quito was not renewing a prior request for Assange to be able to travel to Ecuador.