Ecuador cuts Assange’s internet access amid Clinton emails scandal

PanARMENIAN.Net - Wikileaks says that Ecuador has shut down internet access for its founder Julian Assange, BBC News reports.

The transparency activist has been claiming asylum at London's Ecuadorean embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition over sex assault allegations.

There was no way to immediately verify if he had been knocked offline, and if so, what was Ecuador's motivation.

Wikileaks has recently been releasing emails from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

The anti-secrecy organisation did not return calls and emails on Monday, October 17 though it said in a tweet: "We have activated the appropriate contingency plans."

A woman who picked up the phone at the Ecuadorean embassy said: "I cannot disclose any information."

The ambassador has not yet responded to emails, and London's Metropolitan Police declined to comment.

The Wikileaks claim follows the latest emails it disclosed from a hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's emails.

It released three transcripts on Saturday of Clinton's paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, which her campaign had long refused to release.

The scripts reveal her bantering relationship with the investment bank's executives, which is unlikely to allay fears among liberal Democrats that she is too cosy with Wall Street.

The Democratic White House candidate's camp has claimed the cyber-breach was orchestrated by Russian hackers with the aim of undermining the U.S. democratic process.

While Clinton's team has neither confirmed nor denied the leaked emails are authentic, there have been no indications they are fake.