Ecuador’s police have detained an accomplice of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Ecuadorian Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said on Thursday.
“A person who is close to him lives here, we have convincing evidence that he maintained contacts with former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino. He was detained this afternoon,” she told Sonorama radio station.
Assange’s accomplice was hauled off at the airport when he tried to fly to Japan.
At a news conference, Roma said that Ecuador’s authorities had information that a person close to Assange, who lives in Ecuador, “contributed to the attempts of destabilizing the situation in the country with the goal of harming the government.”
Daily Express reported citing journalist Vijay Prashad that the detained individual was Swedish national Ola Bini, a WikiLeaks software developer. He does not speak Spanish.