The whistleblower was arrested by British police inside the Ecuadorean embassy in 2019, after Lenin Moreno withdrew the former's asylum, a status granted by Correa in 2012. Assange is fighting extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 175 years in prison on controversial espionage charges.
"What happened to Assange was disgraceful. We humiliated Ecuador at the international level. That is why Moreno must be prosecuted for treason," Correa said.
He said Assange’s arrest was the first time in the history of the small Andean nation that the government allowed British forces to enter its national territory. He promised that Moreno would answer for this "barbaric" act.
Correa returned to politics last year, founding a leftist Union for Hope (UNES). Its candidate, Andres Arauz, is leading the presidential race and is expected to make it into the second round of voting in April.
