Ecuador Cut Off Julian Assange's Internet Connection, Claims WikiLeaks (UPDATE)

WikiLeaks tweeted that a 'state party' has cut off Julian Assange's internet connection.

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Complex Original

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​UPDATED: October 18, 11:00 a.m. ET

After originally tweeting that "a state party" cut off Julian Assange's internet, Wikileaks now claims that it was Ecuador who cut off his internet:

Notably, Ecuador is hosting Assange at their embassy in London. Wikileaks claims that Ecuador cut off Assange's internet "shortly after publication of Clinton's Goldman Sachs speechs [sic]." Despite cutting off Assange's connection to the outside world, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Guillaume Long simply told BBC, "The circumstances that led to the granting of asylum remain."

This morning, Wikileaks tweeted that Secretary of State John Kerry had "asked Ecuador to stop Assange from publishing Clinton docs during FARC peace negotiations" in a private meeting in Colombia on September 26.

See the original article below:

WikiLeaks says that Julian Assange, has had his internet connection cut off by "a state party." In a tweet posted early Monday, the group known for revealing secrets—of governments, of companies, and also of random people—said that their founder and leader's "internet link has been intentionally severed by a state party." The group added vaguely, "We have activated the appropriate contingency plans."  

Holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, the internet is crucial for Assange, who has few ways to reach the outside world without it.

Beyond that information, though, the details aren't clear. People on all sides—WikiLeaks, London police, the Ecuadorian ambassador and the Ecuadorian Embassy—are declining to comment on the situation.

The Associated Press reports that, for over four years, Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he's staying to avoid being extradited over alleged sex crimes that occurred in Sweden. Assange claims that he's refusing extradition to Sweden to face the accusations there because, if he's sent to Sweden, Sweden would then hand him over to the United States, who wants him for his role in WikiLeaks' release of classified material, according to NPR.

Since tweeting about Assange's internet being cut, the WikiLeaks account hasn't said anything about the alleged incident. Instead, the account has asked for donations and shared more information about their latest leaks. 

Just this weekend, WikiLeaks dropped yet another dump of hacked Hillary Clinton emails.

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