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| Julian Assange 'to leave' Ecuador embassy | Julian Assange 'to leave' Ecuador embassy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says he will leave London's Ecuadorean embassy "soon" after two years. | |
| He did not clarify when he would depart but said it was "probably not" for the reasons reported by the UK press. | |
| Stories had suggested he was suffering ill-health and required treatment. | |
| Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino said Mr Assange, who is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual assault offences in Sweden, would continue to be offered "protection". | |
| Mr Assange, 43, who faces questioning by prosecutors in Sweden over claims made by two women, denies the allegations and sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in June 2012 shortly after a court ordered his extradition. | |
| He says he fears he could eventually be handed over the US because Wikileaks published classified US military documents on the Afghan and Iraq wars. | |
| He has been living inside the embassy building since then, having been granted diplomatic asylum by Ecuador in August 2012. | |
| Reports in UK newspapers at the weekend said Mr Assange had developed a heart defect and a chronic lung condition during his confinement. | |
| 'Bound to fail' | |
| Sitting next to Mr Patino at a news conference, Mr Assange said his health had suffered during his time inside the embassy. | |
| He told journalists: "I can confirm I will be leaving the embassy soon." | |
| The Australian said the reasons for leaving were not those "reported by the Murdoch press" - but did not elaborate further. | The Australian said the reasons for leaving were not those "reported by the Murdoch press" - but did not elaborate further. |
| If he does leave the Ecuadorian embassy, Mr Assange faces immediate arrest and extradition to Sweden. | |
| Extradition could take place within 10 days of any arrest - unless there are compelling reasons for this to be extended. | |
| BBC legal affairs correspondent Clive Coleman said that if Mr Assange needs medical treatment he could be arrested and then taken to hospital under guard to receive treatment. | |
| But our correspondent said that any argument that Mr Assange could not be extradited because of his health was "almost certainly bound to fail". | |
| "It is almost inconceivable that an extradition would be halted on health grounds if that extradition is to a country that is part of the European Arrest Warrant scheme," he said. | |
| "All of those countries have good hospitals and health care facilities. The health issue doesn't upon up a new round of domestic legal challenges." | |
| 'Better climate' | |
| Mr Patino said the Ecuador government would attempt to meet UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to discuss the case. | |
| He said changes to the UK's extradition laws had created a better climate for reaching a deal over Mr Assange. | |
| "It is time to free Julian Assange. It is time for his human rights to be finally respected," he told the news conference. | |
| The Swedish warrant for Mr Assange's arrest was first issued at the end of 2010. Last month, a Swedish court ruled it would stay in place. |