Who Is Julian Assange And How Long Has He Been At The Ecuador Embassy?

11 April 2019, 12:10 | Updated: 11 April 2019, 12:44

Assange often appeared on the embassy balcony
Assange often appeared on the embassy balcony. Picture: PA

Julian Assange: Journalist, computer programmer and activist.

Who is Julian Assange?

Julian Assange first came to major international attention as the founder of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

He was born Julian Paul Hawkins in Australia on July 3, 1971. Often reluctant to talk about his background he led a nomadic childhood, living in over thirty Australian towns by the time he reached his mid-teens.

In 2006, he began work on WikiLeaks, a website intended to collect and share confidential information on an international scale.

Why was the WikiLeaks founder arrested?

In August 2010 Assange learnt he was being investigated by the Swedish police for allegations that included two counts of sexual molestation, one count of illegal coercion, and one count of rape. After a European Arrest Warrant was issued by Swedish authorities on December 6, Assange turned himself in to the London police.

How long has he been at the Ecuador embassy?

Seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden over the claims, Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012. He was arrested at the same embassy on Thursday the 11th of April 2019, following the withdrawal of his asylum by the government of Ecuador.

At the time, he feared should he be extradited to Sweden he could be arrested by the US and face charges relating to WikiLeaks’s publication of hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

In August 2015 the charges of sexual assault allegations from 2010 were dropped due to statute of limitation violations by Swedish prosecutors. The statue of limitations on the rape allegations will expire in 2020.

Assange spent seven years in the embassy, with it all coming to an end on a Sunny Thursday. Moments after police were invited into the the embassy, Assange can be seen wagging his finger at officer as he is carried out, before being unceremoniously hurled into a van.

When Assange founded the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks he could not have known the level of controversy it would cause. In 2016 the website released release more than 250,000 confidential diplomatic cables, many of them messages containing confidential information, or embarrassing notations about foreign leaders.

The release caused embarrassment for governments around the globe, especially in the US where the inner workings of a world that had remained secret were laid bare.

Mid 2017, Sweden announced they would drop their rape investigation of Julian Assange.

Assange was granted Ecuadorian citizenship in December 2017, but tensions developed between the activist and his hosts.

In March 2018, the government removed his internet access in order to maintain the good relations that Ecuador has with the United Kingdom, and "with the rest of the states of the European Union, and other nations." 

Julian Assange made regular public appearances from the embassy
Julian Assange made regular public appearances from the embassy. Picture: PA

Mr Assange's refuge ended just one day after the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson held a press conference announcing unnamed individuals in Spain has threatened to leak a "massive trove of documents" on Assange.

Hrafnsson claimed that videos, photos and audio captured inside the embassy, and that the government of Ecuador were carrying out an "extensive spying operation."

The next day officers from the Metropolitan Police were invited into the embassy by the Ambassador and Julian Assange was arrested on charges of failing to surrender to the court. He was taken to a central London police station, and will appear before Westminster Magistrates Court as soon as is possible.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Police have released images of a man they want to speak to

Manhunt for rapist who attacked two women in London four years apart - and 'probably targeted more victims'

Louis Gossett Jr. has died aged 87

Louis Gossett Jr, first black man to win Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, dies aged 87

Jeffrey Donaldson

DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson 'charged with historic sex offences' as he steps down as party leader

Russia bombed Ukrainian infrastructure overnight

Russia launches 'massive attack' on Ukraine's power supplies, with 'energy security under growing threat'

Newry Magistrates' Court

Man, 61, charged with non-recent sexual offences in Northern Ireland

Drivers queuing in Dover on Friday morning

Holidaymakers hit with 2-hour Dover ferry waits amid strong winds, as 2.6m hit the roads for Good Friday getaway

The attack happened on a train in south London

Teenager charged with attempted murder after south London train stabbing, with victim still in critical condition

Mother Natalie Pinnell

Mother left in tears after daughter with complex needs 'erased' from school photo

Amber Rudd and Mary Beard have both been nominated to the Garrick Club

Amber Rudd and Mary Beard among seven women nominated for membership of all-male Garrick Club

Exclusive
Anneliese Dodds said Labour would make sure local people have 'skin in the game' with tackling inequality

'Rebuild has to start from ground up,' Labour's Anneliese Dodds says, and 'local people must have skin in the game'

Mohamed Mansour has been awarded a knighthood

Conservatives accused of 'cronyism' after donor who gave £5 million awarded knighthood in surprise honours list

Exclusive
Justin Welby recalled his experience of coping with his father's drinking as a teenager.

‘It was utterly isolating’: Archbishop of Canterbury recalls harrowing childhood with alcoholic father

More than 2 million drivers are set to hit the road on Good Friday.

Easter Carmageddon: Over two million drivers to hit the road on Good Friday after Storm Nelson travel chaos

Michael Gove has slammed the water firm as a 'disgrace'.

Thames Water bosses branded a ‘disgrace’ as Michael Gove tells firm ‘not to punish consumers’ for its failings

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban