Ecuador grants political asylum to Julian Assange

Ecuador has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, after the British government threatened to storm the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest the former hacker. Ecuadore's foreign minister Ricardo Patino made the announcement today.

In a communication to the government of Ecuador in the morning today, the UK has threatened to forcefully enter the Ecuadorian embassy in London and arrest Julian Assange.

Britain has said it is determined to extradite him to Sweden, where he is accused of rape and sexual assault. The UK had claimed that it has the power to do so under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987.

Although the claim was without basis, WikiLeaks said police surrounded the embassy by midnight, in a menacing show of force.

''Any transgression against the sanctity of the embassy is a unilateral and shameful act, and a violation of the Vienna Convention, which protects embassies worldwide'', WikiLeaks said.

''This threat is designed to preempt Ecuador's imminent decision on whether it will grant Julian Assange political asylum, and to bully Ecuador into a decision that is agreeable to the UK and its allies,'' it added.