A supporter of Julian Assange – Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP / SIPA
Mexico on Monday offered political asylum to the founder of WikiLeaks , the Australian Julian Assange , after British justice refused his extradition to the United States, which wants to try him for espionage.
“I will ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take re the necessary arrangements to appeal to the British government for the release of Julian Assange so that Mexico offers him political asylum, ”Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference.
Mexico, land of asylum
United States accuse the founder of WikiLeaks of having endangered American service sources, an accusation he disputes. Among the published documents was a video showing civilians killed by US gunship fire in Iraq in July 700, including two journalists from Reuters.
Julian Assange was arrested in April 2019 after seven years behind the walls of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had fled after violating the conditions of his release on bail, fearing extradition to the United States or Sweden. In these two countries, he was the subject of rape prosecutions, which he contests, and which were dropped.
Mexico has a long tradition of political asylum. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales had thus temporarily benefited from it in November 2010 following his resignation after his contested election for a fourth term.