anarcho-queer:

UK Threatens To Raid Ecuador Embassy To Arrest Assange

Britain has threatened to raid the Ecuadorian embassy in London if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not handed over, Ecuador’s foreign minister says.

At a media conference in Quito, Ricardo Patino said the position taken by the British government was “unacceptable”.

“Today we’ve received a threat by the United Kingdom, a clear and written threat that they could storm our embassy in London if Ecuador refuses to hand in Julian Assange,” he said.

“We are not a British colony.”

WikiLeaks later weighed in, saying any threat to the embassy’s sanctity was a “shameful act”.

In its letter, the British government mentioned an existing law that gives Britain the power to strip an embassy of its status.

Ecuador says it wants to give the Australian asylum, but the British government is refusing to provide him with safe passage, meaning he will be arrested as soon as he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy to where he fled several months ago.

Note: The embassy is considered Ecuadorian soil. The UK raiding the embassy can be construed as an act of war.