Ecuador grants asylum to Julian Assange

Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, told reporters in Quito Thursday that the country had granted Mr. Assange asylum to protect him from alleged “political persecution” in the U.S., which Mr. Assange argues wants to prosecute him for WikiLeaks’ role in publishing thousands of classified U.S. government documents…

The U.K. Foreign Office issued a statement saying it was “disappointed” by Ecuador’s granting the asylum and added that the U.K. plans to “carry out” its obligation to extradite him to Sweden. The statement added that the U.K. is committed to a “negotiated solution.”

Communications between the U.K. and Ecuador have grown tense in recent days. On Wednesday evening in Quito, Foreign Minister Patino said the country had “received from the United Kingdom the express threat in writing that they could assault our embassy in London if Ecuador didn’t hand over Julian Assange.” He added: “We want to make this absolutely clear. We are not a colony of Britain, and colonial times have finished.”