MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2019) Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik news agency and RT broadcaster, linked Thursday's arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the upcoming visit of Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno to the United States.
Assange was arrested in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Moreno confirmed that his country had withdrawn the asylum it had previously granted the WikiLeaks founder. The UK police said the arrest was made at the request of the US authorities.
"The Ecuadorian president, who turned Assange in, is going to the United States on April 16. What's the exchange rate for 30 pieces of silver these days?" Simonyan wrote in her Telegram blog.
The US Department of Justice said Thursday it was charging Assange with conspiracy related to a 2010 release of stolen documents provided by former US army soldier Chelsea Manning. According to the UK court, the United States has until June 12 to submit all the papers necessary for extradition.
Assange has gained worldwide fame after WikiLeaks released a large number of files, including some on US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other sensitive documents. He had been residing in the Ecuadorian Embassy since 2012 and expressed fear over potential extradition to the United States.
