Ecuador Reshuffles Its Envoy to UK Amid Possible Assange Extradition - Reports

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno decided to change the country’s ambassador in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been residing in the Ecuadorian diplomatic mission, media reported.

Moreno had signed a decree dismissing Carlos Abad, who had worked as the ambassador since June 2015, the Comercio news outlet reported on Thursday. The outlet, however, has not revealed reasons behind the move and the name of the new ambassador.

Abad is known for his role in the talks with the United Kingdom on the resolution of the Assange’s situation. However, these negotiations have not yielded any results.

Assange, who had been prosecuted by Sweden on sexual assault charges, has received asylum in Ecuador and has been living in the country's embassy in the United Kingdom since 2012. Sweden dropped the charges in 2017, but the whistleblower has not left the embassy, citing fears that he might be caught and extradited to the United States, where he might face charges over leaking thousands of classified documents.

READ MORE: US Determined to Get Assange, So His Prospects Look Pretty Bleak — Activist

Earlier in November, WikiLeaks said that the US authorities might have brought sealed charges against Assange, citing a filing in an unrelated case that used Assange's name in an "apparent cut-and-paste error."

Carlos Poveda, Assange's lawyer, has told Sputnik that Ecuador might extradite his client, suggesting Quito might have reached an agreement on this with London and Washington.

READ MORE: US Filed Secret Charges Against Assange Because He’s a ‘Threat to the System’