The News
Friday 29 of March 2024

Ecuador denies decision made to expel Wikileaks founder


AP Photo,FILE- In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said on Tuesday, March 2, 2019, that he wants to reach an agreement for Assange to leave the Embassy in London as soon as possible, as long as his life is not in danger. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
AP Photo,FILE- In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said on Tuesday, March 2, 2019, that he wants to reach an agreement for Assange to leave the Embassy in London as soon as possible, as long as his life is not in danger. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A senior Ecuadorian official says no decision has been made to expel Julian Assange from the country’s London embassy despite tweets from Wikileaks that sources had told it he could be kicked out within “hours to days.”

A small group of protesters and supporters of Wikileaks’ founder gathered Thursday outside the embassy in London where Assange has been holed up since August 2012.

Earlier, Wikileaks tweeted: “BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within “hours to days.” Another tweet said it had received a second confirmation.

A top Ecuadorian official denied WikiLeaks’ claim and said no decision had been taken to expel Assange. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter.