Julian Assange, Wikileaks co-founder has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 11 Apr 2019, Thursday morning.
Julian Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.
Julian Assange arrest today came after Ecuador dropped his asylum status, effectively evicting him from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
On Thursday afternoon, Julian Assange arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court where he was charged with failing to surrender in 2012.
Finding him guilty, District Judge Michael Snow said Julian Assange’s behavior was “the behavior of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interest”.
He now faces US federal conspiracy charges related to one of the largest ever leaks of government secrets.
Julian Assange will face Westminster Magistrates Court via video link on 02 May 2019 to hear his US extradition request, before which he will remain in custody.
Jennifer Robinson, a member of Julian Assange’s legal team, said they would be fighting the extradition request. She said it set a “dangerous precedent” where any journalist could face US charges for “publishing truthful information about the United States”.
“I’ve just been with Mr. Assange in the police cell, he wants to thank all of his supporters for the ongoing support, and he said — ‘I told you so.'”
Julian Assange had predicted that he would face extradition to the US if he left the embassy.
