Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said it was almost certain he would not leave his embassy refuge on Friday, June 29, to enter a British police station as part of his extradition process to be questioned in Sweden about sex-crime allegations.

Assange has been holed-up in Ecuador’s embassy in London since he made a surprise application for political asylum last week. On Thursday, British police summoned Assange to a London police station, demanding he leave the embassy, Reuters reported.

But Assange later told BBC television in a telephone interview: «Our advice is that asylum law both internationally and domestically in the UK takes precedence to extradition law, so the answer is almost certainly not.»

Meanwhile, his bid to avoid extradition has left his celebrity backers facing an embarrassing £240,000 financial headache after they stumped up the cash to keep him out of jail. Police said they had formally served a surrender notice upon a 40-year-old man that requires him to attend a police station at date and time of our choosing, The Daily Mail reported.

The embassy declined to comment.

Over the weekend, the Ecuadorian Ambassador left London to return to her home country for talks on the bid. Anna Alban is to meet President Correa in the capital Quito, where she will personally brief him on the situation.

The Ecuadorian government has requested material both from Julian and from authorities in Sweden, the UK and US before they make a formal decision.

Meanwhile, Mr Assange, who wants to start a new life in the South American country, has again criticised Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard over Canberra’s handling of his case. He said he chose Ecuador’s embassy instead of his home country’s because he felt Canberra had done nothing to protect him, a charge the government has denied.

Canberra has said it has limited capacity to help him because he is not in Australia and has not broken any Australian laws.

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