Ecuador on Thursday granted WikiLeaks' Julian Assange political asylum, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced in a live televised broadcast.
"In accordance with our policies, the government of Ecuador decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange," Patino said in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.
Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for the last two months as he fights extradition to Sweden over assault and rape claims, which he denies.
