UK police confirmed Thursday that Assange has been arrested “on behalf of the United States authorities” who are seeking his extradition.
He was initially apprehended this morning for skipping out on a UK arrest warrant issued in 2012; once he arrived at the police station this morning, he was then “further” arrested under an extradition request by the US.
Here’s the full police statement:
Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act. He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as possible.
Lawyer for woman who accused Assange of assault tweets on his arrest
From Gianluca Mezzofiore in London
Elisabeth Massi Fritz, a lawyer for a Swedish woman who accused Julian Assange of sex crimes, tweeted Thursday that she and her client were shocked by his arrest, but said they had been hoping for it since 2012.
My client and I have just recieved (sic) the news that Assange has been arrested in London. It did understandably come as a shock to my client that what we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012 has now finally happened.
Assange first sought asylum in connection with Swedish prosecutors’ attempt to question him about allegations from two women against him.
How Assange ended up at the embassy in the first place
Assangee leaves the UK Supreme Court in February 2012. In May of that year, the court denied his appeal against extradition to Sweden.
It’s been seven years, so let’s remind ourselves how Assange got himself in this predicament.
Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London on June 19, 2012, days after the UK’s Supreme Court upheld a decision to extradite him to Sweden for questioning over claims of sexual assault.
The Australian national claimed asylum at the embassy because he believed Sweden would have sent him onward to the US, where he could theoretically face the death penalty if convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks. Assange has never been charged by Swedish authorities and has repeatedly denied the assault allegations.
Assange had handed himself over to London authorities in 2010. That same year, he was released on bail and placed under house arrest. His legal battle against extradition ended with the May 2012 decision.
Last year, Swedish prosecutors dropped their case against the WikiLeaks founder but he chose to remain holed up in the embassy because he was still wanted for breaching his bail terms and failing to surrender to the UK court in June 2012.
Pamela Anderson: Assange “looks very bad”
The actress Pamela Anderson, who visited Assange several times in the Ecuadorian embassy during his time there, said she was “in shock” over his arrest and ripped into the UK for their morning raid on the embassy.
“I am in shock.. I couldn’t hear clearly what he said? He looks very bad. How could you Equador (sic) ? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK. ?” Anderson tweeted Thursday, before accusing Britain of arresting Assange to distract from the country’s never-ending Brexit debacle.
Debate is emerging on social media over the press freedom implications of Assange’s forced removal from the Ecuadorian embassy on Thursday morning.
Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked classified documents on US surveillance programs around the world in 2013, reacted to news of Assange’s arrested quickly on Thursday.
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