Australian-born Julian Assange officially became a citizen of Ecuador in 2018. He obtained that citizenship after living for years at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. He fled there in 2012 when he was threatened with arrest in Sweden after allegations of sexual assault.
Extradition to the United States
Assange fears he will be extradited via Sweden to the United States, where he is under fire for posts on the whistleblower’s website.
Never lived in Ecuador
The judge in Ecuador says Assange obtained his passport illegally because he did not meet all the requirements. For example, he never lived in Ecuador and paid a fee to obtain citizenship. The interview with the officials would not have taken place according to the rules.
Ecuador withdrew Assange’s refugee status in 2019, allowing police to arrest him. Soon after his arrest, he was sentenced to nearly a year in prison for violating the terms of his bail in the abuse case.
accused of espionage
Assange is currently in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States, where prosecutors accuse him of espionage by publishing classified diplomatic documents on WikiLeaks. The extradition request for the American Assange is still pending.
