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Assange protesters arrested

August 16, 2012

Police in London have arrested three protesters demonstrating on behalf of Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian embassy. Assange is waiting on an asylum decision from Ecuador as the UK plans to extradite him to Sweden.

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A man is arrested in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in London
Assange / EcuadorImage: picture-alliance/dpa

On Thursday as the arrests were made, a small group of Assange supporters chanted slogans on behalf of the Australian founder of WikiLeaks.

Ecuador is currently considering whether to grant Assange asylum, with a decision due to be announced at 1200 GMT on Thursday. But even if he is given the green light, it is unlikely Assange will be permitted to travel to Ecuador.

British police remain stationed outside the embassy ready to arrest him for breaching the terms of his bail, which was granted in 2010.

At a news conference in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, on Wednesday, the country's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino hit back at a letter he said he had received from the UK government, which threatened to raid the embassy if Assange was not handed over.

"The move announced in the official British statement, if it happens, would be interpreted by Ecuador as an unfriendly, hostile and intolerable act, as well as an attack on our sovereignty, which would force us to respond in the strongest diplomatic way," Patino told reporters.

"We want to be very clear, we're not a British colony. The colonial times are over," the foreign minister said.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino
Patino said a decision on Assange is due on ThursdayImage: dapd

Assange took refuge at Ecuador's embassy in London on June 19 after losing a legal battle against extradition to Sweden. He is wanted for questioning there over allegations of sexual assault and rape, charges which he denies.

The 41-year-old has also expressed fears that Sweden will eventually extradite him to the United States, where he faces charges over WikiLeaks' publishing of thousands of secret US documents, many of which included information pertaining to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Extradition a 'legal obligation'

In a statement issued as Patino spoke, Britain reasserted its determination to send Assange to Sweden.

Source News Feed: EMEA Picture Service ,Germany Picture Service A barrier with a Free Assange posters are seen opposite the Ecuadorean Embassy in London August 14, 2012. Ecuador is likely to announce a decision on whether to grant political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange before the end of the week in a case with diplomatic implications around the world, President Rafael Correa said on Monday. Assange has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sex crime allegations.
Assange has recieved some public support in his asylum bidImage: Reuters

"The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation," a Foreign Office spokesman said on Wednesday. The statement warned that the UK could revoke the embassy's diplomatic status if necessary.

"Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadorians' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or to the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK," the spokesman said.

The law in question, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, would allow the UK to revoke the diplomatic immunity of an embassy on UK soil.

Alluding to Ecuador's concerns, however, the spokesman said the UK hoped a "mutually acceptable" solution could still be found.

ccp,mz/jlw (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)