Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has formally requested asylum in Ecuador, according to the country’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino, who spoke at a press conference in Quito on Tuesday. He told reporters that Assange requested asylum at the country’s embassy in London, but did not say whether this request would be accepted. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Google Translate) said on its website on Tuesday that it was “evaluating the request of Mr. Julian Assange, and any decision on it will take into account respect for the rules and principles of international law and the traditional policy of Ecuador to safeguarding human rights.” Last week , the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom dismissed Assange’s extradition appeal to Sweden, seemingly paving the way for him to face sexual abuse charges in the Nordic nation. It’s unclear for the moment exactly why Assange chose Ecuador to seek asylum, but the country did offer him residency in 2010 after the organization announced that it had 1,600 cables from the American Embassy in Quito . Read more | Comments

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Julian Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador