WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by British police on Thursday after they were invited into the Ecuadorean embassy, where he has been holed up since 2012.
"Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador," police said.
Police said they arrested Assange after being "invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum."
The arrest came a day after WikiLeaks said that Assange has been the subject of a sophisticated spying operation at the embassy. WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said Wednesday that "Wikileaks uncovered an extensive spying operation against Julian Assange" and that his "eviction" from the embassy could happen at any time.
Hrafnsson did not immediately give evidence for his claims. Reuters was unable to independently verify the allegations.
Assange's relations with his hosts have chilled since Ecuador accused him of leaking information about President Lenín Moreno's personal life. Moreno has said Assange violated the terms of his asylum.
Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff. More than 250,000 classified cables from U.S. embassies followed, then almost 3 million dating back to 1973.
To some, Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power by modern states and for championing free speech. To others, he is a dangerous rebel who has undermined the security of the United States.
Assange took refuge in the embassy to avoid being extradited to Sweden where authorities wanted to question him as part of a sexual assault investigation. That probe was later dropped but WikiLeaks fears the United States wants to prosecute him.
