Julian Assange loses Ecuador citizenship for forged documents

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who is in a British prison, lost his Ecuador citizenship as the country pointed out the missing of several relevant facts, including multiple inconsistencies, different signatures, the possible alteration of documents and unpaid fees in a letter informing the nullification his naturalisation.

The announcement of Assange's citizenship revocation by Ecuador's justice system came as a reply to a claim filed by the South American country's foreign ministry.

Ecuador's justice system reconsidered his naturalisation after finding fraudulent documentation from his part to acquire citizenship, a report published in The Guardian said.

Assange's lawyer called out the decision claiming it was not made in due process that he was not given chance to appear for his defence. Lawyer Carlos Poveda said that he would file an appeal seeking clarification on the decision. He said the matter was more than nationality for the nationality withdrawing process had had little heed to in respect of rights.

The government under the former President Lenín Moreno had granted citizenship to Assange in January 2018 in an attempt to get his release from the embassy in London giving him a diplomatic status that was foiled.

Assange, 50, has been in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London since he was arrested in April 2019 for skipping bail seven years earlier during a separate legal battle.

Assange's effort to flee from extradition to Sweden over a rape and sexual assault case, which he denied, landed him in Ecuador's London embassy where he spent nearly seven years. Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed.

US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison if convicted of all charges.