Ecuador offers Assange transfer to Sweden under protection

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ecuador's Foreign Minister says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be transferred from London to Sweden, but remain under Ecuadorian protection, ABC News reported.

Ricardo Patino says such a transfer could be a way of continuing to provide Assange with protection while also satisfying the demands of the Swedish justice system.

Assange took shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June after exhausting all appeals against extradition from Britain to Sweden. He is wanted there for questioning on sexual assault allegations, but he fears Sweden will hand him over to the United States.

Ecuador has granted him diplomatic asylum, but Britain has vowed to arrest him if he leaves the embassy.

Patino hinted to "new" developments in the Swedish case, saying "several elements of proof have been dismissed". However, he declined to provide further details.

He stressed that the best option, in Ecuador's view, would be for Britain to grant Assange safe passage.

Patino plans to discuss Assange's case with his British counterpart William Hague on the margins of next week's United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has said he might be willing to hand Assange over to British authorities in exchange for guarantees he will not be sent to a third country or face the death penalty anywhere.