Wed 28 July 2021:
Ecuadorean court revoked WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s citizenship last week, his lawyer in Quito, Carlos Poveda, told media.
Assange is currently in a British prison. The country’s justice system has formally notified Assange of the nullity of his naturalisation in a letter.
The letter came in response to a claim filed by Ecuador’s foreign ministry.
A naturalisation can be revoked if it is granted when facts have been hidden, false documents have been used or a fraud has been committed.
Ecuadorian authorities said that Assange’s naturalisation letter has several inconsistencies, different signatures, the possible alteration of documents and unpaid fees, among other issues.
Carlos Poveda, Assange’s lawyer, told The Associated Press the decision was made without due process and Assange was not allowed to appear in the case.
“On the date (Assange) was cited he was deprived of his liberty and with a health crisis inside the deprivation of liberty center where he was being held,” Poveda said.
He said he will file appeals asking for amplification and clarification of the decision.
“More than the importance of nationality, it is a matter of respecting rights and following due process in withdrawing nationality.” he was quoted as saying by AP.
In January 2018, Assange was given Ecuadorian citizenship that was part of a failed attempt by former Ecuador President Moreno to turn him into a diplomat in order to get him out of its embassy in London.
Assange was arrested by the British authorities in April 2019. Before that Assange spent seven years inside Ecuador’s London embassy before that. He had walked into the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.
The WikiLeaks founder faces US espionage charges following the leakage of classified documents. In 2012, Assange took refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was facing sexual assault charges which were later dropped. Assange has been held in a top security prison in Belmarsh, the United Kingdom, since 2019, pending an appeal in an extradition case initiated by the United States.
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