It’s been a weird five years for Julian Assange. He’s been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for so long that he’s been granted citizenship, but not diplomat status. Meanwhile, there’s still an arrest warrant for him in Britain for jumping bail. Not to mention, there’s the little problem of the hacker who supplied him DNC emails, Guccifer 2.0, was probably a group of Russian military intelligence officers. Now, for at least the second time, Assange’s internet connection has been cut off.
According to The Guardian, the Ecuadorian government announced that it cut off Assange’s line to the superinformation highway because he’s risking Ecuador’s international relations:
In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country’s relations with other states.
“The government of Ecuador warns that Assange’s behavior, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country’s good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations,” the statement said.
While Assange is likely to remain in the embassy to avoid arrest, Alan Duncan, a British foreign affairs minister, called Assange a “miserable little worm” on Tuesday while saying Assange should give “himself up to British justice.” Despite no in-room internet connection, Assange has responded on Twitter.
As a political prisoner detained without charge for 8 years, in violation of 2 UN rulings, I suppose I must be "miserable"; yet nothing wrong with being a "little" person although I'm rather tall; and better a "worm", a healthy creature that invigorates the soil, than a snake.
— Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) March 27, 2018
Unmentioned in Assange’s tweet: he’s voluntarily at the embassy and is worried he’ll be extradited to the United States if he is arrested in Britain. Also, there’s no word on whether he’ll still be allowed visits with Pamela Anderson while he sits there with no internet connection.
(Via The Guardian)