Ecuadorian Congresswoman Paola Vintimilla led dozens of protesters outside the Presidential Palace in Quito, on Wednesday, to call on Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno to revoke Ecuadorian citizenship from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
At least a hundred supporters of Ecuador’s last President Rafael Correa also gathered outside the Presidential Palace with photos of Julian Assange to counter-protest in support for the whistleblower, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for the last six years.
“I came here to demand President Lenin Moreno to annul the Ecuadorian citizenship given to Julian Assange. Irregularities occurred, too much money was used, this is a person who disrespected the Embassy in London, and all the people working there,” said Congresswoman Vintimilla.
“He has played soccer inside, he has a cat defecating everywhere and he has not had any rules. One of the reasons he should have been expelled from the embassy years ago is because of interference in other countries political issues. He did it with Spain, with the US, and our own,” she added.
Counter-protester and supporter of Julian Assange, Jorge Saavedra, said that he thinks Assange’s life is in danger, adding that “after exposing all the information of the international bourgeoisie’s sins to the world, he will not be absolved. The same as Snowden.”
On Monday, a judge in Quito ruled against Assange’s request to loosen new requirements that the whistleblower claims are meant to push him into leaving his asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Assange was first granted refuge by Ecuador 2012 while on bail over sexual assault allegations against him in Sweden. He feared extradition to the United States.