U.K. cops: Assange faces arrest outside embassy

Police stand guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, London, Wednesday June 20, 2012. / AP Photo/Tim Hales

(CBS/AP) LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is beyond the grasp of British authorities as long as he is holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, the government said Wednesday. But he faces arrest if he steps outside.

Police said Assange had violated the terms of his bail, which include an overnight curfew, and "is now subject to arrest." Police officers were stationed Wednesday outside the Edwardian apartment block that houses the small South American country's London embassy.

The Foreign Office said as long as Assange remains inside, he is "beyond the reach of police."

"We will seek to work with the Ecuadorean authorities to resolve this situation as soon as possible," it said in a statement.

The 40-year-old Australian took refuge in the mission on Tuesday, saying he was seeking political asylum in Ecuador, whose leftist President Rafael Correa has previously offered words of support.

Ecuador: Wikileaks' Assange seeking asylum

Ecuador said Assange would "remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorean government" while authorities in the capital, Quito, considered his case.

But even if Ecuador grants Assange the political asylum he seeks, that status won't protect him as he leaves the embassy, British legal analyst and commentator Joshua Rozenberg told CBS News.

It's possible that Ecuador could try to grant diplomatic status to Assange, but that normally involves an agreement with the host country, which is unlikely to be given, Rozenberg added.

Assange was arrested in London in December 2010 at Sweden's request. Since then he has been fighting extradition to the Scandinavian country, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual assaults on two women in 2010.

He denies the allegations and says the case against him is politically motivated. He also claims extradition could be a first step in efforts to remove him to the United States, where he claims to have been secretly indicted over his website's disclosure of 250,000 State Department cables. The leaks of the secret diplomatic exchanges deeply angered the U.S. government.

Asked about the case at a Geneva press conference, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said Assange was not being victimized.

"I don't think he's being persecuted because of his use of the Internet at all," she said.

Assange had all but run out of legal options in Britain, where the Supreme Court last week affirmed an earlier decision that he should be sent to Sweden.

Some legal experts said they were mystified by the reasoning behind Assange's dramatic asylum bid. But human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy, a former member of Assange's legal team, said he could be planning to bargain with Sweden for assurances that he would not be handed over to the U.S.

She said if granted such assurances, Assange might be willing to go to Sweden voluntarily.

[Khannea]

He can be smuggled in diplomatic mail. Happens all the time - a big case can not be scanned or opened once sealed as being consulate documents or articles. He only needs to stay in the box a few hours, between airport and international airspace. Might be on a private jet. Once he's there, he's gone and out of any international control.

Should be just a matter of time. He is very popular, lots of people would be eager to help.

[formerlyluvnut]

Yup, and lots of patriotic people eager to get ahold of him too, myself included.

[formerlyluvnut]

I'm skeered mummy!!!!!! Waaaahhhhhhhh! They're gonna get me! Yes, Julian, we are gonna get you. Surprised we haven't yet, but we will, and then....sucks to be you.

[rayward73446]

Assange may be avoiding returning to Sweden simply because he is guilty of the charges, and knows that he will be convicted. He has tried everything but confronting his accusers, which would be the right thing to do IF he is innocent. Assange is not known for making the 'right' decissions.

[audemus]

....and just what if Assange is actually innocent of these charges, and the U.S. is simply trying to get him back here so he can be punished for having had the nerve to expose what goes on behind our closed doors ? It's happened before....

[audemus]

You can say what you want to, as long as it's OK with us.

[alterpath5]

Guys like Assange (Strauss-Kahn is another) always show their true colors, don't they? After making messes wherever they go, they refuse to clean up after themselves. They won't even admit they did anything wrong. No courage, no integrity, no accountability. The operating definition of cowardice. Now Assange is trying to weasel out of his predicament by holing up in an embassy. So predictable.
Well, when he walks out the door, the Met will be there to give him a dose of reality.

[Lerianis4]

Oh, bullplop. The only 'cowardice' here is from the United States for obvious setting this man up. Only a fool wouldn't be able to see the problems with the case against him, including the fact that he was questioned in Sweden and ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

No, this reeks of political charges in order to get Assange to Sweden and then to the United States.

[Khannea]

I support the honorable sacrifices made by Julian Assange. He may have contributed towards government transparency and democracy. I hope many will follow his example. This is a true hero.