Ecuador government has severed Julian Assange's internet access, confirms WikiLeaks
The move comes after the anti-secrecy organisation released three sets of emails on Saturday of Hillary Clinton’s Goldman Sachs speeches.
WikiLeaks on Monday said that the Ecuador government had stopped the internet access of its founder Julian Assange on Saturday after the anti-secrecy group published Hillary Clinton's Goldman Sachs speeches. With this, WikiLeaks has put an end to the growing speculation that the governments in United States or United Kingdom had done it.
WikiLeaks released a statement saying, "We can confirm Ecuador cut off Assange's internet access Saturday, 5 pm GMT, shortly after publication of [Hillary] Clinton's Goldman Sachs speeches." It, however, said that appropriate contingency plans have been activated.
The move comes after the anti-secrecy organisation released three sets of emails on Saturday of Clinton’s contentious Goldman Sachs speeches. According to The Guardian, the transcripts reveal her interaction with investment bank’s executives. The Democratic camp has neither confirmed nor denied the leaked emails as authentic. The party has accused Russia of running a campaign against Clinton. Assange, however, has denied any connection with Russia but he also did not reveal WikiLeaks’ sources, reported Reuters.
Though the Ecuador government did not comment on the issue, foreign minister Guillaume Long said the government will continue to provide protection to Assange, who has lived and worked in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012 after he was granted asylum. He had sought asylum after after a British court ordered his extradition to Sweden over a molestation case.