Ecuadorian government revokes Julian Assange’s asylum for being a nightmare houseguest

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested April 11 after the Ecuadorian government expelled him from their London embassy. He’s already appeared before a British court for violating bail conditions and is expected to be extradited to the United States to face hacking conspiracy charges.

The extradition charge refers to a time in 2010 when Assange aided Chelsea Manning to leak information to journalists about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay. USA Today has provided a timeline of WikiLeaks’ activities.

The WikiLeaks founder had taken asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, and in April 2019, after seven years as the embassy’s guest, he finally wore out his welcome.

Upon his expulsion, his Ecuadorian citizenship was also revoked. The ejection follows years of Assange causing aggravation to his exile hosts; the embassy has reported incidents involving erratic behavior and unhygienic habits, not to mention accusations of spying and meddling in foreign politics.

Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno explained his decision to expel Assange was the consequence of him violating the agreement that he stop interfering with other governments and also listed various grievances about Assange’s behavior during his stay in the embassy.

The complaints against Assange from the Ecuadorian government include him acting out, either from paranoia or bored curiosity, and bringing prohibited electronic equipment into the embassy, interfering with security cameras, accessing embassy security files without permission, and compromising the communications system.

Apparently, Assange has also been aggressive with embassy staff and officials, accusing them of being U.S. spies, even going so far as to get violent with diplomatic guards on some occasions.

Even as Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, the government was shadowed by threats from WikiLeaks. Ecuador’s President Moreno says Assange had information on Ecuador’s surveillance program that would embarrass or damage the government and threatened to leak it to the press.

That does not exactly sound like gratitude. After all, he was not a hostage in the embassy, this was a self-imposed exile that he chose to avoid answering questions in Sweden over rape allegations. As an asylee, he had no cause to make life hell for the embassy staff.

Part of the agreement when he was granted asylum in the embassy was that Assange would not interfere in politics or other nations’ internal affairs, but he took advantage of Ecuador’s generosity on this front as well. On Twitter he displayed a caricature of narcissism and bravado, using his spotlight to sway favor against various political figures, instead of lying low like someone who is wanted by the U.S. government might.

In January, WikiLeaks leaked Vatican documents, and President Moreno says Assange received visits from members of the WikiLeaks organization before and after that time period. WikiLeaks also interfered in the 2016 Democratic National Convention by leaking thousands of email documents pertaining to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Assange’s activities pertaining to the world outside embassy walls do not even fully cover the list of grievances President Moreno aired April 11, the day Assange was evicted and arrested. Several references to Assange’s cleanliness, or lack thereof, have resurfaced since his arrest.

Moreno has alleged in a BBC interview that Assange “even [smeared] his feces on our embassy’s walls.” Tensions between Assange and the embassy seem to have gotten worse last year when his hosts presented a nine-page memo directing him to clean his bathroom, and feed and clean up after his cat or they would find the cat a new home.

Foreign Minister José Valencia mentioned that early on Assange just did relatively normal things bad guests might do, like roller skating and playing soccer indoors and listening to loud music. Recently, his behavior had escalated and become more offensive, even sometimes hitting the embassy staff that protect him. There’s also a bizarre video clip going around of Assange attempting to skateboard in very short shorts.

However, the final straw for Moreno was when personal photos of him, his family, and his home were leaked onto the Internet. WikiLeaks has not taken credit for this, but Moreno has reason to believe it was an attack on his character by Assange.

Assange had to be dragged out of the embassy by London’s Metropolitan Police, who says he was arrested for skipping bail in 2012 and at the request of U.S. authorities. He resisted arrest and had to be restrained and unceremoniously lugged outside and hoisted into a police van.

Assange’s many lawyers want to protect their client by creating fear about what his prosecution will mean for activist journalism in the future. The extradition charge is for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, not for publishing government secrets, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

That’s two years less than the time Chelsea Manning served before her sentence was commuted. It can be assumed that Assange is going to fight the extradition charge, so actually getting him in the U.S. could take months, maybe even a couple of years.

The founder of WikiLeaks did not get hauled out of Ecuador’s London embassy because he helped facilitate the revelation of war crimes committed by the United States, he was evicted by Ecuador for being the worst house guest imaginable.

No one wants someone to come into their home, stay for an indeterminate number of years while insulting and abusing the hosts, never cleaning up after himself, and then meddle in the affairs of foreign nations. Additionally, this guest happens to be wanted by the police in at least three countries. Maybe if he had not so boorishly imposed upon Ecuador’s hospitality, he would still be in their cozy embassy and not in a London jail cell.

For more on Julian Assange:

TIMELINE: Events leading up to the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks was created in 2006 to leak mostly classified information to the public. Over the years, the founder Julian Assange, has been a symbol of whistleblowing and controversial topics. His asylum under the Ecuadorian government has recently been rescinded and he has been arrested. Here is the timeline of events leading up to his arrest.