Ecuador stated on Wednesday the British authorities has refused to let WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange obtain medical consideration outside the Andean nation’s London embassy the place he has been holed up for over three years.
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Officers had been outside the embassy since Mr Assange sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation, which he denies.
Asked if Assange would be arrested if he left the embassy to visit a hospital a Foreign Office spokesperson said that it was a matter for the police. “We don’t know what he may have, and they don’t want to give an authorization that they can perfectly well give”.
He has been at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since August 2012.
“The operation to arrest Julian Assange does, however, continue, and should he leave the embassy the (police) will make every effort to arrest him”, Scotland Yard said in a statement.
Whether he’s an exemplar of patient fortitude or of contemptible cowardice, Assange, 44, has managed to frustrate the British and Swedish governments by immuring himself within the embassy, which is treated as Ecuadorean territory. The cost of guarding the Australian writer and computer programmer amounted to a total of £12 million (AU$25 million).
For their part, Swedish prosecutors have had to drop all but one of their investigations into Assange’s conduct with two women in 2010 because the statute of limitations on molestation allegations has run out; an allegation of rape remains outstanding.
“Like all public services, MPS resources are finite”.
The WikiLeaks Twitter account linked to a statement saying that the source of the shoulder pain being experienced by Assange could only be diagnosed with hospital equipment that could not be brought into the embassy due to size and weight.
Sweden wants this accord finished by the end of the year so it can question Assange inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Britain made a “formal protest” to Ecuador over Assange in August through its ambassador in Quito.
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Assange has said he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.
