Ecuador’s President tells WikiLeaks founder not to meddle in politics

Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno on Monday urged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange not to intervene in Ecuadorian politics. (Photo: Lenín Moreno/Facebook)

QUITO—Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno on Monday urged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange not to intervene in Ecuadorian politics.

Assange has been sheltered by the Ecuadorian embassy in London since he sought asylum there in 2012.

“He must respect the condition in which he is, not to intervene in Ecuadorian politics and not intervene in the politics of friendly countries either,” Moreno told a press conference in capital Quito.

Moreno, who took over as president on May 24, responded after Assange wrote on Twitter last week that “Ecuadorians can feel confident that, if WikiLeaks obtains proof of corruption in Ecuador, it will publish them.”

The asylum was granted to Assange by Ecuador’s former President Rafael Correa as the WikiLeaks founder faced potential extradition to the U.S., and Moreno stated he would maintain the same policy.

“Ecuador is extremely respectful…with the lives of human beings. That is why it granted him asylum in its embassy,” said Moreno.

The U.S. is seeking to try Assange for espionage after WikiLeaks published thousands of confidential American documents in 2010.

He was also being sought by Sweden for allegations of sexual assault but the Swedish prosecutor-general abandoned the case on May 19.