British govt. may discuss Assange case with Ecuador

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 3, 2013 3:47PM GMT

The UK government has considered a request from Ecuador to discuss the situation of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian mission in London.

The British Foreign Office confirmed that Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino had proposed to meet with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the case.

An Ecuadorian government spokesman said that Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed British officials of Patino's visit and had 'offered to meet with Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the case of Julian Assange'.

A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said the request was being considered.

This comes as Patino is set to visit Assange this month at the Ecuadorian embassy, where the Wikileaks founder has been living for a year, after being approved political asylum there.

Meanwhile, after a year, Assange still remains stranded in the embassy and diplomatically shielded at the same time.

He would face immediate arrest by UK police officers if he steps out of the embassy building and then could be extradited to Sweden over sex allegations that he denies.

Assange believes his extradition is orchestrated by the west because of the Wikileaks website and that it is an attempt to hand him over to the United States, where he and many of his supporters fear he could face harsh consequences.

In February, police officials said the bill for them patrolling and guarding Ecuador's embassy 24 hours a day, came to almost £3 million of taxpayer's money.

BGH/MOL/HE