WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange continues to see his freedoms narrow as Ecuador cuts off his access to the internet. Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 when he absconded after being released from jail on bail. The WikiLeaks founder has been fighting extradition since Sweden's government issued a warrant over a rape claim against him.
Assange asserts his innocence but has been forced to dwell at the Ecuadorian embassy, if he even steps foot off the property he will be arrested instantly. Ecuadorian officials said they cut off his internet Thursday in response to his recent activity on social media. While living at the embassy, Assange agreed in a 2017 written agreement not to send any messages that could interfere with the country's relations with other countries.
Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/18339-Assange-Loses-Legal-Bid-With-British-Authorities">Assange Loses Legal Bid With British Authorities</a>
The Ecuadorian officials say Assange's posts "put at risk the good relations that the country maintains with the United Kingdom, with the rest of the European Union states and other nations." They decided it would be best to just cut off his access to the internet altogether "in order to prevent any potential harm."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">(1/3) The manner of and timing of Russian diplomatic expulsions is poor diplomacy. The expulsions occurred 12 hours after one of the worst building fires in post Soviet history, which killed at least 64. Russians will see the timing as gratuitous.</p>— Julian Assange ⌛ (@JulianAssange) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/978368105322827776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">(3/3) Further, while it is reasonable for Theresa May to view the Russian state as the leading suspect, so far the evidence is circumstantial & the OCPW has not yet made any independent confirmation, permitting the Kremlin push the view domestically that Russia is persecuted.</p>— Julian Assange ⌛ (@JulianAssange) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/978368109517123585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Assange criticized the United Kingdom for expelling the Russian diplomats just hours after a devastating fire that killed at least 64, many of whom were children. The tweets illicit a response from the British Foreign Office minister, Alan Duncan who said it was time "that this miserable little worm walked out of the embassy and gave himself up to British Justice."
Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/19199-Ecuador-Admits-Failure-Of-Assange-Efforts">Ecuador Admits Failure Of Assange Efforts</a>
He still refuses to come out of the embassy drawing from a number of concerns including potential extradition to the US for prosecution over documents he released with WikiLeaks including documents from military whistleblower transgender Chelsea Manning.
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Source: http://www.dw.com/en/ecuador-cuts-off-wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-communications/a-43174504
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