--- ---  # U.K Lodges Formal Protest Over Assange's Continued Stay in Ecuadorian Embassy ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._ by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 14, 2015 9:26 AM UTC  A police officer stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London August 13, 2015. A police officer stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London August 13, 2015.Peter Nicholls—Reuters by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 14, 2015 9:26 AM UTC The British Ambassador in Quito lodged a formal [protest](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33907874) to the Ecuadorian government Thursday over the country’s continued harboring of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Foreign Office officials confirm. Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, saying he was afraid his extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges would be followed by further extradition to the U.S. to stand trial for leaking classified and sensitive documents through his organization. He has been living at the embassy since then. “Ecuador must recognize that its decision to harbor Mr. Assange more than three years ago has prevented the proper course of justice,” Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire told the BBC before the written complaint was delivered in Quito. The issue is both a moral and a financial one: U.K. officials estimate that the cost of policing the area around the London embassy is nearing $19 million. Swedish authorities were forced to [drop](http://time.com/3995610/sweden-wikileaks-julian-assange-rape-sexual-assault/) two allegations of sexual assault this week due to that country’s statute of limitations policy. Under Swedish law, an individual may not be charged until he or she has been questioned by authorities, an action that investigators say has been made impossible by Assange’s stay at the Embassy. He still faces a more serious allegation of rape, on which the statute of limitations will not run out until 2020. “I am an innocent man. I haven’t even been charged,” Assange told the BBC. “From the beginning I offered simple solutions. Come to the embassy to take my statement or promise not to send me to the United States. This Swedish official refused both. She even refused a written statement.” Sweden’s director of public prosecution told the BBC that authorities had submitted a request to interview Assange inside the embassy as he suggested but had not received permission. \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33907874)\] U.K Protests Julian Assange's Stay in Ecuadorian Embassy ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/"},"headline":"U.K Lodges Formal Protest Over Assange's Continued Stay in Ecuadorian Embassy","datePublished":"2015-08-14T09:26:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:30.253Z","description":"Hugo Swire of the Foreign Office called the issue a \"growing stain\" on Ecuador's reputation","url":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/","keywords":["Ecuador","Sexual Assault","politics","sweden","United Kingdom","Julian Assange","WikiLeaks"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b4a8fedae30ebe5/69885f435f570f679fb1cec9/rtr4z0kw.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b4a8fedae30ebe5/69885f435f570f679fb1cec9/rtr4z0kw.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A police officer stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London","caption":"A police officer stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London","creditText":"Peter Nicholls—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ecuador/","name":"Ecuador"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/","name":"U.K Lodges Formal Protest Over Assange's Continued Stay in Ecuadorian Embassy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden","description":"TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxBatp7g/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3997683/uk-julian-assange-ecuadorean-embassy-wikileaks/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```