The
Ecuadorian government has lifted restrictions on WikiLeaks co-founder
Julian Assange’s communications with the outside world, allowing
visitors to his embassy hideout and restoring internet access it cut
off in March.
It was
reported on Sunday that Ecuador moved to restore Assange’s access
to the Internet, cell phone communications and permitted him to
receive visitors other than his legal team.
WikiLeaks
confirmed that Ecuador lifted the restrictions it had imposed on
Assange in March. Back then, Ecuador cited a written agreement that
allegedly prohibited Assange from sending messages that would
interfere in the affairs of other countries. WikiLeaks denied such an
agreement existed.
“It
is positive that through UN intervention Ecuador has partly ended the
isolation of Mr Assange although it is of grave concern that his
freedom to express his opinions is still limited,” Kristinn
Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief said in a statement.
He added
that Assange was made aware of the decision “hours after”
UN high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi and UN special
rapporteur for freedom of expression David Kaye met with Ecuador’s
President Lenin Moreno. During his visit to Ecuador, Kaye praised
Moreno for promoting the freedom of speech and for his protection of
whistleblowers. At the time, Assange was still gagged at the
Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The news
of Assange's communications being restored was first reported by the
Press Association citing sources. The Ecuadorian government is yet to
make an official comment.
Assange
has been confined to the embassy since 2012 after being granted
political asylum by then Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa. The
whistleblower fears if he leaves the building he will be seized by
the British authorities and handed over to the US for trial over
leaking troves of secret CIA documents, which exposed its tools for
hacking and surveillance, as well as other confidential papers.
Assange
was granted Ecuadorian citizenship in 2017, meaning that he could not
be handed over to the UK unless he is stripped of his citizenship.
However, the fate of one of the world's most famous fugitives has
been balancing on the edge of a cliff since Moreno came to power in
May last year. Moreno called Assange an “inherited problem”
and “more than a nuisance.” It was reported in July that
Ecuador was in talks with the UK to expel Assange from the embassy,
and that his extradition was all but “imminent.”
Moreno
later confirmed that Ecuador discussed the terms under which Assange
could leave the embassy with the British government, but stressed
that any such agreement must include a guarantee that London would
not hand over the whistleblower to the US.
"If
the British government guarantees us that he will not run the risk of
being extradited to another country, we will ask Mr. Assange (to
leave); we will talk first with his attorneys,” Moreno said in
August.
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