Ecuador cuts Assange's internet access

Ecuador has suspended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s internet access after he discussed on social media issues it said could damage Ecuador’s diplomatic relations.

Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June 2012, when he entered the building to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about allegations of sex crimes, which he has always denied.

He recently spoke on social media about a diplomatic crisis between London and Moscow and about Catalonia, despite warnings by Ecuador to avoid controversial politics.

“The measure was adopted in the face of Assange’s failure to comply with a written commitment he assumed with the government at the end of 2017, under which he was obliged not to issue messages that would interfere with other states,” the Ecuadorian government said in a statement.

In 2016, Ecuador restricted Assange’s internet access for commenting on US internal affairs.

Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno has described Assange as a stone in his shoe inherited from his predecessor and the government has said the situation is “unsustainable.”

In December, Ecuador granted Assange citizenship.

The Swedish investigation was dropped in May last year, but Assange, who was on bail at the time when he walked into the embassy, faces arrest by the British authorities for breaching his bail terms should he step outside.

Assange says the real reason for his legal troubles is the fact that WikiLeaks published US diplomatic and military secrets, and he fears that if he leaves the embassy he risks being extradited to the United States.

British Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan described Assange on Tuesday as a “miserable little worm” who should leave the embassy and give himself up to British justice.