Julian Assange has reportedly given away his beloved cat in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London so it wouldn’t be “trapped” with him anymore.
Assange with Embassy Cat.
Assange freed the feline — known as “Embassy Cat” — as its “isolation became unbearable,” and to “allow it a healthier life,” Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported on Tuesday.
The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the embassy since August 2012 after being accused of rape in Sweden.
He frequently posed with the cat and posted their photos to a dedicated Instagram page.
In 2016 the cat played with American documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who the account named “Meowchael Moore.”
The cat’s freedom comes after the Ecuadorian embassy complained about Assange’s living situation. It told him to clean up after the cat, called him unhygienic, and said that his skateboarding ruins their floors.
Among the complaints of embassy employees is that Assange did not feed the cat or change its cat litter.
It’s not clear where the cat lives, or who it lives with now.
The Ecuadorian embassy imposed new house rules on Assange in October, which included cat care, cleaning his own bathroom, and taking care of his personal hygiene.
The WikiLeaks founder sued in response, saying that the new rules were “violating his fundamental rights and freedoms.” A judges aid that Assange had to obey them.
In March, the embassy also temporarily cut off Assange’s internet connection after breaching a commitment “not to issue messages that might interfere with other states.”
He had posted a tweet challenging the UK’s accusation that Russia was responsible for the nerve agent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal earlier that month, and the Ecuadorian embassy said the tweet risked damaging Ecuador’s relationship with the UK and EU.
The embassy reportedly restored the connection in October.
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Credit: Pulse, www.pulse.ng
