WikiLeaks: Brexit Scrapping European Arrest Warrant Against Assange

The United Kingdom's decision to exit the European Union means that the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) against founder and editor-in-chief of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks Julian Assange should be scrapped, the website said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.

#Brexit means the scrapping of the European Arrest Warrant used as the excuse to detain Assange without charge in the UK for 5.5 years

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 24 июня 2016 г.

​The EAW is a warrant that is valid through all members of the European Union.

Assange launched the WikiLeaks website in 2006. Since then, the site has released millions of classified diplomatic documents from around the world on espionage practices, war crimes, torture and many other human rights violations.

Assange has been residing at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 out of fear of being extradited, first to Sweden where he has been accused of sexual assault, and ultimately to the United States where he could face espionage charges for publishing secret documents through his website.