( CNN ) — Ecuador granted Julian Assange asylum over fears of political persecution Thursday, but it was hardly a reprieve as Britain vowed to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to Sweden to face questioning on sex crime charges.
Assange, the publisher of hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. government documents, has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since June.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said Thursday there is credible fear that if Assange is sent to Sweden, he could be subsequently be extradited to the United States, where he could be charged with espionage and treason.
In the United States, there are no guarantees that Assange would receive a fair trial or that he wouldn’t be subject to a military or secret tribunal, Patiño added.
“The Ecuadorian government, after carrying out a fair and objective analysis of the situation presented by Mr. Assange and evaluating his oral and written arguments, has decided that there’s cause to presume that he could be the target of political persecution or that such persecution could happen if no timely and necessary measures are taken to prevent it,” Patiño said.
Ecuador asked Britain to guarantee safe passage for Assange and to respect its decision.
But the UK said it was disappointed by the decision and will continue to work toward Assange’s arrest and extradition.
“We shall carry out that obligation. The Ecuadorian government’s decision this afternoon does not change that,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
Foreign Minister William Hague said Britain will not provide safe passage for Assange, and that the UK had “painstakingly” assured the Ecuadorians that his human rights would be protected.
“It is important to understand that this is not about Mr. Assange’s activities at WikiLeaks or the attitude of the United States of America. He is wanted in Sweden to answer allegations of serious sexual offenses,” Hagues explained.
Meanwhile, Assange praised Ecuador for standing up for him.
“I am grateful to the Ecuadorian people, President Rafael Correa and his government. It was not Britain or my home country, Australia, that stood up to protect me from persecution, but a courageous, independent Latin American nation,” Assange said from the embassy, according to a WikiLeaks news release.
Patiño preceded his announcement Thursday with a lengthy argument against any British action against Ecuador’s embassy in London. In remarks Wednesday, he said the Ecuadorian government had received a written notice from British authorities that they would “assault” the country’s embassy in London if Ecuadorian officials failed to hand over Assange. (continue reading)