Julian Assange to be EXTRADITED? Furious Ecuador demands ‘RESPECT’ from Wikileaks founder

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry hit out at for claiming Ecuador planned to end his asylum and hand him back to the United States, insisting his accusations will tarnish the country’s reputation.

In a statement, the ministry insisted he “respects the sovereignty and good name of the country, and they will not allow untruthful statements or insinuations about the government’s behaviour regarding the diplomatic asylum that was granted”.

Mr Assange previously accused Ecuador of placing him in “solitary confinement”, after a series of restrictive measures were imposed on him last month.

The Wikileaks founder claimed the new terms were used to coerce him to leave the embassy, where he was granted refuge since 2012.

Earlier this month, Mr Assange was ordered to pay most of his expenses, including medical bills, laundry, and cleaning up after his pet cat.

He claimed Ecuador was limiting his access to the outside world, insisting he was living in an “inhuman situation”.

On Monday, magistrate Karen Martinez in Quito, Ecuador ruled against his lawsuit over his asylum conditions.

A statement by Wikileaks said: “Ecuador’s measures against Julian Assange have been widely condemned by the human rights community.”

However, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry dismissed claims their terms were in violation of human rights.

Their statement added: “The court’s decision confirmed that the protocol governing visits, communications and medical treatment for Mr. Assange is in harmony with human rights, and fully compliant with asylum and national law.”

In March, Mr Assange was denied access to his phone and internet, and prohibited from receiving guests apart from a team of lawyers after he broke a “written commitment” to not interfere in Ecuador’s foreign policies.

A protocol governing his stay at the embassy warned any further breaches will lead to “termination of asylum”, Ecuadorian internet site Codigo Vidrio said.

In 2006, Mr Assange and a group of friends set up WikiLeaks, a site where whistleblowers could send confidential information which is then published online.

Mr Assange was granted asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in 2012 after the US began investigating him over leaking a series of secret US documents on Iraq and Afghanistan war logs in 2010.