Assange Facing Possible Eviction from Ecuadorian Embassy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living, in asylum, in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy for nearly five years to escape extradition to Sweden where he faces sexual assault charges, but his time there could soon be over, depending on the result of the Ecuadorian Presidential election, which takes place today (2nd April).

The Ecuadorian Presidency is being fought over by former Vice President Lenin Moreno, who has pledged to continue the efforts of the current left-wing government that has reduced poverty, though has trashed the environment and imposed draconian censorship, or Guillermo Lasso, a right-wing businessman and former banker with possible links to offshore tax dodging. While Moreno has suggested that Assange could be allowed to remain in the Embassy, under certain conditions, Lasso has promised to turf out the WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief within 30 days of him becoming President.

“The Ecuadorian people have been paying a cost that we should not have to bear,” Lasso said (via The Guardian). “We will cordially ask Señor Assange to leave within 30 days of assuming a mandate.”

“We will always be alert and ask Mr Assange to show respect in his declarations regarding our brotherly and friendly countries,” Moreno countered.

As the Sword of Damocles dangles precariously above their client’s head, Assange’s lawyers are understandably anxious about the outcome of the election, and one has even called out both candidates for “playing politics” with his status as a refugee.

“We are obviously very concerned that any candidate would threaten to undermine the protection that the Ecuadorian state has granted Julian,” Jennifer Robinson, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and a member of Assange’s UK legal team, said. “No government should play politics with the granting of asylum. It’s a legal protection provided for under international law, Ecuador has granted that protection, they have recognised him as a refugee, and now they have obligations to protect him whatever happens in the elections.”

Assange’s stay in the Embassy has been tough on both parties; the refugee for his cramped living space and inability to leave the grounds, and the personnel of the diplomatic mission for the demands that housing a wanted man bring.

“Our staff have been through a lot. There is a human cost,” Ecuadorian foreign minister Guillaume Long said. “This is probably the most watched embassy on the planet.”

“It’s a very precarious position,” Long added. “In terms of his physical comfort we have done all we can … But there is no access to an outside space. There is no patio or garden so he has mostly spent four and a half years on the first floor of a building in London, where there is not much light, especially in winter.”

Current polls predict a win for Moreno – which would suit Assange – but, as we’ve seen over the last year with Brexit and Trump, political forecasting is a mug’s game.