Julian Assange to leave Ecuador embassy 'soon'

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will leave London's Ecuadoan embassy "soon" after two years of refuge. He did not clarify when he would depart but said it was "probably not" for the reasons reported by the UK press.

Stories had suggested he was suffering ill-health and required treatment. Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino said Assange, who is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual assault offences in Sweden, would "continue to offer him protection".

Britain’s Sky News, part owned by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, had earlier reported that Assange was considering leaving the embassy due to deteriorating health.

“I am leaving the embassy soon ... but perhaps not for the reasons that Murdoch press and Sky news are saying at the moment,” he told reporters at the embassy in central London, before refusing to clarify his comments.

Asked about his health, Assange said anyone would be affected by spending two years in a building with no outside areas or direct sunlight, a complaint he has made several times before. However, he did not elaborate on his condition.

Assange, 43, who faces extradition to Sweden, denies the allegations and sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in June 2012. He says he fears he could eventually be handed over the US because of Wikileaks published classified US military documents on the Afghan and Iraq wars.

He has been living inside the embassy building since then, having been granted diplomatic asylum by Ecuador in August 2012.

Reports in UK newspapers at the weekend said Assange had developed a heart defect and a chronic lung condition during his confinement.