INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Julian Assange sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden
(File)Quito, Ecuador: Ecuador announced Thursday it would withdraw additional security measures at its London
embassy after an investigation found it plunged $5 million into a spy operation to protect WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.The move,
ordered by President Lenin Moreno, came after The Guardian newspaper and Focus Ecuador revealed the previous administration of Rafael Correa
funded the operation that involved monitoring Assange's visitors, embassy personnel and the British police.In March, Ecuador cut off
Assange's ability to communicate with the outside world after he broke a 2017 promise to not interfere in other countries' affairs while in
the mission.Assange, 46, sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, which
he denies.Assange claims the accusations were politically motivated and could lead to his being extradited to the United States to face
imprisonment over WikiLeaks' publication of secret US military documents and diplomatic cables in 2010.Swedish authorities dropped their
investigations last year, but British authorities still want to arrest him for breaching bail conditions.(This story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
