Posted August 18, 2014 18:45:39
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will 'soon' leave Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has been holed up for two years to avoid extradition.
Police have been stationed at the compound since Mr Assange requested political asylum from Ecuador in June 2012, ready to arrest him if he sets foot outside.
The 43-year-old Australian, who has reportedly sought treatment for health problems recently, gave a press conference this evening amid speculation he was set to hand himself over.
Asked about the reports, Mr Assange said: 'I can confirm I am leaving the embassy soon, but perhaps not for the reasons [reported].'
Swedish prosecutors want to question Mr Assange over sexual assault allegations made by two female former WikiLeaks volunteers.
Mr Assange denies the allegations and has been fighting a legal battle against extradition since his arrest in Britain in 2010.
He fears Sweden could in turn extradite him to the United States to be tried for one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history.
More to come.
Topics:people, security-intelligence, defence-and-national-security, internet-culture, internet-technology, human-interest, sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, england, united-kingdom, australia, asia
Entities 0 Name: Assange Count: 4 1 Name: WikiLeaks Count: 2 2 Name: Ecuador Count: 2 3 Name: australia Count: 1 4 Name: england Count: 1 5 Name: US Count: 1 6 Name: United States Count: 1 7 Name: Britain Count: 1 8 Name: London Count: 1 9 Name: Sweden Count: 1 10 Name: Julian Assange Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1mYF59q Title: Fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suffering heart problem Description: Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange taking part in a live video conference in Mexico City earlier this month. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has a serious heart condition but risks arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London to seek hospital treatment.