Assange’s mother says asylum is only safe option

The mother of Julian Assange, visiting Ecuador to plea for her son’s asylum request, said the WikiLeaks founder is under extreme psychological stress and feels his only option is to seek safety in Ecuador.

Assange has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since Jun 19. The former computer hacker, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published secret US diplomatic cables, is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sex crime allegations.

Assange has broken his bail terms and requested asylum in Ecuador because he fears he could be bundled to the US where his life would be at risk.

“He is freedom loving, he cannot run, he cannot go outside to see the sky, outside the UK police wait like dogs to take him... he can not exercise the way he normally could and he’s under extreme psychological stress,” Christine Assange said.

The Ecuadorean government has said it will take as long as needed to make a thorough analysis of Assange’s asylum application.

Swedish prosecutors want to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two WikiLeaks supporters in 2010. Assange says he had consensual sex with the women.