The withdrawal of Ecuadorian nationality to Assange has not had major progress

(CNN Spanish) – The Foreign Minister of Ecuador, Mauricio Montalvo, revealed this Thursday that the withdrawal of the Ecuadorian nationality to the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, “has not had progress”, granted at the end of 2017 during the Lenín Moreno government, and that the situation should resolved in the corresponding instances.

Montalvo made this revelation in response to a question from CNN during a dialogue with the foreign press in Quito.

In 2019 and after almost 7 years of asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the Ecuadorian government lifted Assange’s asylum and handed the Australian over to the British authorities. That same day, the Foreign Ministry determined that the granting of Ecuadorian nationality to Assange constituted a “harmful administrative act” and suspended the effects of his naturalization, but not the withdrawal of nationality. The “declaration of nullity” of nationality requires an additional judicial process before the Administrative Court of the country.

Carlos Poveda, Julian Assange’s lawyer in Ecuador, told CNN that this Thursday a preliminary hearing was held before the Administrative Contentious Court where the appeal of Assange’s defense was not accepted.

“The main evidence regarding the (alleged) irregularities of naturalization was not accepted,” emphasized Poveda. The trial hearing is scheduled for the month of July, according to Poveda.

Montalvo told CNN that the Assange case was aired in the previous government, and that the withdrawal of his Ecuadorian nationality is a matter that must advance according to the pace given by the administration of justice. “The matter is being raised by the Foreign Ministry and you know the rhythms of the administration of justice are a little slower,” emphasized Montalvo.

In a 2019 report, the Comptroller General of Ecuador established that there were inconsistencies and irregularities in the process of granting Ecuadorian nationality to Julian Assange.

That same year, during an impeachment process against her, then-Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa explained to Parliament that President Lenín Moreno “had full knowledge of the process” and that she responded to the directives of Moreno, who supervised and authorized the decision.

Moreno, for his part, said that it was not his decision and that he respected the actions of the former foreign minister.

The United States requested the extradition of Assange to the country to answer for the charges according to the Espionage Law for his role in receiving and publishing information related to the national security. In January 2021, a British judge rejected the United States’ request to extradite Assange on the grounds that it would be oppressive to his mental health.