London police arrest WikiLeaks' Julian Assange after Ecuador rescinds asylum

Julian Assange.
(Image credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

London's Metropolitan Police said Thursday they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy "on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court on 29 June, 2012, for failing to surrender to the court." The police were "invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum," the Met said, and Assange "has been taken into custody at a central London police station," pending an appearance before the court.

Ecuador's president, Lenín Moreno, explained in a video that he withdrew Assange's asylum status because of his "repeated violations" of the conditions of Ecuador's protection and hospitality.

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Assange has been living inside the Ecuadorian Embassy since 2012, when he sought refuge from extradition to Sweden on a sexual assault charge. Assange has said he fears being extradited to the United States. British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said Thursday that after nearly seven years, Assange is "rightly facing justice in the U.K.," adding, "No one is above the law."

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