PARIS (Sputnik) - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asked French President Francois Hollande for political asylum in an open letter published Friday.
“By welcoming me, France would make a humanitarian gesture, and likely also a symbolic gesture, encouraging all journalists and whistleblowers across the world, who risk their lives every day to bring their fellow citizens a step closer to the truth,” the letter reads.
#BREAKING France rejects asylum request from Wikileaks' Julian Assange: presidency
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) 3 июля 2015
France has declined Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's asylum request, President Francois Hollande's press service said in a statement Friday.
"A thorough examination shows that, taking into account legal elements and Assange's situation, France cannot act on his request. Assange's situation poses no immediate danger. He is also the subject of a European arrest warrant," the statement reads.
Assange has been residing at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for the past three years, fearing extradition to the United States over espionage charges for publishing secret documents.
Late last month, WikiLeaks revealed that the US National Security Agency had been intercepting communications of French President Francois Hollande and his predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac.
French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira earlier said that asylum could possibly be granted to Assange and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who resides in Russia and faces similar charges in the United States.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls subsequently contradicted the statement, saying that the issue was not on the government’s agenda.
