The president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, has banned Julian Assange from "intervening in countries' politics and self-determination", a clear reference to his comments on Catalan independence. Otherwise, Moreno says, "measures will be taken".
.@Lenin: "Al señor Assange le hemos puesto una condición: Que deje de intervenir en la política y la autodeterminación de los país. Caso contrario se tomarán medidas" #LenínEnMedios
— Vamos Lenín (@VamosLenin) 6 d’agost de 2018
The country had, in March, cut off his internet access because his "behaviour, with his messages on social media, is putting at risk [Ecuador's] good relations with the United Kingdom, with the other members of the European Union and other nations". In the days before the ban, he had tweeted about the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK and had criticised the arrest of Carles Puigdemont in Germany.
Wikileaks quickly came out in support of its founder, saying that "reporting is not a crime". It criticises them for saying measures will be taken for what they say is him doing his job.
President Lenin Moreno again threatens @JulianAssange saying "measures will be taken" if he does his job and reports, as he did, on Spanish police beating #Catalan voters for self-determination, which Moreno here defines as "political interference". Reporting is not a crime. https://t.co/frel7TTJRf
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 6 d’agost de 2018