Assange a victim of persecution: Quito

Julian Assange is the victim of "evident political persecution", Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino says.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

Julian Assange is the victim of "evident political persecution", Ecuador's Foreign Minister says. (AAP)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must be allowed to go free from the Ecuadorian embassy in London following a UN panel ruling calling for that, the South American country's foreign minister says.

"What more do they want to be accused of before they start to rectify their error?" Ricardo Patino told regional broadcaster Telesur on Friday, in reference to Britain and Sweden.

Assange, a computer hacker who enraged the United States by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic cables, has been holed up in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid a rape investigation in Sweden.

Saying Assange was a victim of "evident political persecution," Patino added Ecuador was analysing its next steps in the legal and diplomatic arena.


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Assange a victim of persecution: Quito | SBS News