'Stay out of our politics!’ Julian Assange in SECOND slap down by Ecuador president
WIKILEAK’S founder Julian Assange has been warned to “stay out” of Ecuador’s affairs in a second brutal put down from the South American country’s new president.
Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuador embassy for five years
Mr Assange has lived in Ecuador’s London embassy for the past five years as he tried to escape rape accusations brought by a woman in Sweden.
The charges were dropped earlier this month, but the Wikileaks boss has been warned he could be arrested by police in London if he leaves the diplomatic sanctuary that has become his home.
And it has been revealed the white-haired 45-year-old has risked upsetting his hosts a second time, after commenting on the country’s recent election.
Julian Assange: Today is an important victory for me
The Wikileaks boss has been warned he could be arrested if he leaves the embassy
Mr Assange took a swipe at Ecuador's Conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso over Twitter last month following his devastating defeat.
The war of words kicked off after Mr Lasso said during his campaign that he would cordially invite Mr Assange to leave the Ecuadorian embassy within 30 days of taking office, should he secure the presidency.
But Ecuador's new president Lenin Moreno shot back - warning the WikiLeaks founder to “not meddle” with Ecuadorian politics at all.
[Julian Assange's] status does not allow him to talk about the politics of any country, let alone ours
Now Mr Moreno has issued a second admonishment, as he spoke during a ceremony at Cochasqui archeological site in the northern Andes on Thursday.
The new leader "respectfully" asked the Australian "not to interfere in Ecuadorian politics, nor in the politics of its allies.
And he added: "His status does not allow him to talk about the politics of any country, let alone ours.”
Ecuador President Lenin Moreno told Mr Assange not to meddle
Mr Assange took a swipe at Ecuador's Conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso
Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa said earlier this week that his country had "done its duty" by granting him asylum in 2012.
Mr Assange hit back at Mr Moreno's comments yesterday in a series of tweets.
He said: ""Ecuadorians can be confident that if WikiLeaks receives evidence of corruption in Ecuador it will be published.
"In any instance where there is a genuine legal barrier to me being the publisher I will recuse myself and my replacement will publish.
Assange approaches four years at London’s Ecuadorian embassy
Ecuador has been in turmoil following the elections.
Mr Lasso's supporters accused officials of voter fraud at the ballot box and took to the streets in protest this week.
The election was incredibly close and changed a long-standing trend of right-wing politicians winning victories across South America over the past decade.