Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain

By William Neuman and Maggy Ayala

Ecuador announced Thursday that it was granting political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who has been holed up for two months in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London awaiting the decision.

The move leaves Mr. Assange with protection from arrest only on Ecuadorean territory. To leave the embassy for Ecuador, he would need cooperation that Britain has said it will not offer.

The decision adds to sharp strains between Ecuador and Britain. Just before the announcement of asylum in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, President Rafael Correa said on his Twitter account: “No one is going to terrorize us!” The night before, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said that the British authorities had threatened to force their way into the embassy, to which he responded: “We are not a British colony.”

Mr. Patiño announced the asylum decision at a news conference, reading from a government communiqué. “The government of Ecuador, faithful to its tradition of protecting those who seek refuge in its territory or in its diplomatic missions, has decided to grant diplomatic asylum to Julian Assange,” he said.

He added, “There are indications to presume that there could be political persecution,” and that Mr. Assange would not get a fair trial in the United States and could face the death penalty there.

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