Assange hints at WikiLeaks publication of Snowden material
The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denied speculation that the American whistleblower Edward Snowden was interrogated by Russian authorities.
30-year-old Snowden was granted asylum by the Kremlin at the start of the month, after spending weeks in hiding in the transit area of Moscow Airport.
Mr Assange said WikiLeaks has had someone by Snowden's side throughout his time in Moscow and that Russian authorities have "behaved well".
He has also hinted that his website may soon leak more information from Snowden in the near future.
Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian government has stressed its commitment to finding a solution to the position of Assange on the anniversary of the WikiLeaks founder being granted political asylum.
The Australian has been living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for more than a year as part of his campaign to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces sex allegations against two women – claims he denies.
Mr Assange fears that if he travels to Sweden he will be forcibly taken to the United States to face questioning over documents published by WikiLeaks.
A statement from the Ecuadorian government said: “One year ago today Ecuador took the decision to award asylum to Julian Assange, a journalist who feared political persecution after publishing information sensitive to the US government that exposed war crimes, killings, torture and other human rights abuses that would otherwise never have come to light.
“After thoroughly examining the evidence, the government of Ecuador concluded that it shared Julian Assange’s concerns that there is a real and present danger to his freedoms.”
The statement said the recent guilty verdict against US soldier Bradley Manning and attempts to prosecute Edward Snowden for leaking information about US surveillance, underlined why Ecuador granted asylum.
It added: “The decision taken was based on Ecuadorian and international law. As Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares ’Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution’.
“However Ecuador accepts that resolving Julian’s status and specifically his right to leave the embassy without threat of arrest and onward extradition to the US involves the jurisdictions of three sovereign nations – the UK, Sweden and Ecuador.
“The government of Ecuador remains committed to finding an equitable solution to this situation that respects domestic and international law while at the same time protecting Julian Assange from inhumane treatment and the threats of political persecution.”
