According to the President of Ecuador, the Ecuadorian embassy in London has been used by Julian Assange (co-founder of WikiLeaks) as a centre for spying and his political asylum was revoked, ending what was a stay of seven years inside the embassy.

ecuador spying

The Ecuadorian President, Lenín Moreno, has stated that it was a sovereign decision of his government to remove Assange from the embassy and that an outside entity hadn’t forced the decision upon him. In his statement, he complains about the way Assange treated the Ecuadorian diplomatic staff in the London embassy and that his attitude was absolutely repressible. Moreno goes on to say that Assange had also held improper levels of hygiene during his stay at the embassy.

Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, described the allegations of Assange’s behaviour as outrageous and not true.

Whilst seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange was accused of leaking information about Moreno’s personal life along with pictures of him and his family, something that has always been denied by WikiLeaks. The leaked pictures of the Ecuadorian President caused him a lot of issues in his country. They revealed him leading a luxurious lifestyle during a time he had imposed austerity measures on the people of Ecuador. It’s been suggested that this is what started the breakdown of Assange’s relationship with Ecuador.

In the Moreno’s statement he says It is unfortunate that, from our territory and with the permission of authorities of the previous government, facilities have been provided within the Ecuadorian embassy in London to interfere in processes of other states. It’s hard to say exactly what went on in the embassy from the Presidents statement, but it could be suggested that it’s likely Assange committed some form of espionage from within the embassy, and from what Moreno’s said, likely with the backing of the previous Ecuadorian presidency.