Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has been stripped of his Ecuadorian citizenship by a court on Monday.
Assange has been incarcerated in HM Prison Belmarsh in London since April 2019 over conspiracy to commit computer intrusion charges which carries a maximum 5-year sentence.[
His citizenship nullity was formally made known in a letter that came in response to a claim filed by the South American country’s foreign ministry.
According to Carlos Poveda, Assange’s lawyer the decision was made without due process and his client was denied a court appearance.
Assange received Ecuadorian citizenship in January 2018 as part of a failed attempt by the government of then-President Lenín Moreno to turn him into a diplomat to get him out of its embassy in London.
However, tensions later flared between Quito and Assange.
On Monday, the Pichincha court for contentious administrative matters revoked this decision.
Ecuador’s foreign ministry said the court had “acted independently and followed due process in a case that took place during the previous government and that was raised by the same previous government”.
