WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in a manner designed specifically so he would not press a panic button that would bring “devastating consequences” to Ecuador.
Jose Valencia, Ecuador’s foreign minister, said his government had recordings of Assange threatening Jaime Merchan, Ecuador’s ambassador to Britain, with pressing a button that would unleash “devastating consequences” if they evicted him.
The foreign minister added that the Thursday arrest of Assange was done in a manner so that he could not press the button. It is unclear how much of a threat Assange’s button actually was.
Ecuador’s president said the country was relieved to get rid of the asylum seeker, who reportedly smeared feces on the walls of the embassy and skateboarded in the halls.
“We’ve ended the asylum of this spoiled brat,” Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno said Thursday. “From now on we’ll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it, and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilize governments.”
Assange was arrested after nearly seven years of political asylum in Ecuador’s British embassy in London.
WikiLeaks, the organization Julian Assange founded in 2006, has long been a thorn in the side of the U.S. government with Assange using the platform to reveal state and military secrets.
Assange would face a slew of charges in the United States over allegations he attempted to hack into government computers with Chelsea Manning if extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States goes through.
