Ecuador in negotiations to turn Julian Assange over to Sweden

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may have finally worn out his welcome at Ecuador’s London embassy.

Signs posted outside Ecuador’s London Embassy.

Several news sources report that negotiations are underway to release Julian Assange to Swedish authorities. Assange has been living in political asylum at the embassy since 2012 when British police threatened to arrest him on alleged sexual assault charges filed by two Swedish prostitutes.

At the time it granted asylum, Ecuador agreed with Assange that the sex charges were trumped up and were being used as a means to eventually extradite him to the United States where he could face the death penalty for theft of classified documents.

Ecuador has apparently changed its position on the charges and is willing to release Assange to Swedish authorities in exchange for an assurance that he will not be extradited.

“If he is really wanted in Sweden in connection with the alleged sex charges, that is all right, but he must not be extradited to a third country,” Ecuador Foreign Minister Guillaume Long told the news website Ecuadorinmediato. Long said the condition is non-negotiable.

Sweden says it has not received an extradition from the U.S.