Ecuador has 'temporarily restricted' WikiLeaks founder's internet

Julian Assange.
(Image credit: Carl Court/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the government of Ecuador explained that it has "temporarily restricted" internet access at its embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange resides, because it does not interfere in foreign elections.

The move came on Monday after WikiLeaks published another leak of documents from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. In a statement, the government said it stands by its decision to grant Assange asylum four years ago and was not pressured by a foreign country to restrict his internet, but it "respects the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states."

Earlier Tuesday, WikiLeaks claimed that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked Ecuador to keep Assange from publishing further documents from the Clinton campaign; the State Department denies this. Assange is living in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on rape charges.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.