Ecuador may ask Britain to allow the transfer of WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange from its embassy in London to Sweden where he could
respond to sex charges against him, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo
Patino said.
Assange, 41, has been hiding at the Ecuadorian
Embassy since June to avoid his extradition to Sweden, where he faces a
case that he calls politically motivated.
Ecuador granted Assange political asylum Aug 15 but he still faces arrest the minute he steps out of the embassy building.
"We
could get authorization to transfer Assange to our embassy in Sweden so
that the case can proceed there with the protection of Ecuador while
meeting the needs of Swedish justice," Chile's La Segunda newspaper
quoted Patino as saying.
Patino said there was also an option to
allow Assange to testify before Swedish prosecutors inside the embassy
building in London.
Assange and his supporters fear that he may
be extradited from Sweden to the US, where he could face espionage
charges and possible death penalty.
Assange's whistleblowing site
made an enemy of the US government in 2010, when it leaked thousands of
American diplomatic cables. The US has not ruled out requesting his
extradition from Sweden.
Patino said he was planning to meet
British Foreign Secretary William Hague in New York next week to discuss
the Assange situation.
"We believe that the democratic
governments will be able to discuss everything and find a diplomatic
solution to this case," the Ecuadorian minister said.
