An Ecuadorian official who has been described as “familiar with government discussions”
told The Guardian that Ecuador’s government will approve Assange’s request for asylum. It remains unknown, however, if he will be allowed a path to reach Ecuador from the country’s embassy in London, where he’s been living since mid-June.
Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, previously said that he would announce his decision about Assange’s asylum request before Friday. Correa appeared as a guest on Assange’s television show, World Tomorrow, in May.
Government sources also told The Guardian that Ecuador’s offer of asylum was extended to Assange months ago, before he sought safe harbor at the Ecuadorian embassy.
Assange is facing extradition from the United Kingdom to Sweden, where he’s wanted to stand trial for accusations of sexual misconduct. Assange believes the charges against him have been trumped up as part of a United States-backed plan to get him to a U.S. court to face still-unannounced charges related to WikiLeaks’ release of classified American diplomatic cables.
WikiLeaks only recently came back online after a more than week of being knocked offline by cyberattacks.