On Thursday WikiLeaks Twitter account posted a screenshot of a letter received by some of the residents of no. 18 Hans Cres, London — an apartment building across from the Ecuadorian Embassy that serves as an asylum for Julian Assange. The letter, which has a BBC News logo in its top right corner, asks permission to install permanent cameras outside residents' apartments so that they overlook the embassy.
'BBC' asks to install permanent @JulianAssange monitoring cameras in flats (no. 18 Hans Cres) opposite Ecuadorian embassy in London. It should be noted that the UK government already has several robot cameras pointed at the embassy steps, including on top of No. 22 #OpKudo pic.twitter.com/OZ0RmbgB2N
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 9, 2018
The letter was motivated by a desire to better cover Julian Assange's story and promised to compensate for any disturbances caused. The letter also contains Jonathan Whitney's email as a contact for those interested in the offer. According to Whitney's profile, he is a BBC News Deployment Editor.
READ MORE: Ecuador's President Names Condition For Assange to Leave London Embassy
WikiLeaks chief editor Julian Assange has been living in Ecuador's UK Embassy since 2012 fearing the UK may extradite him to the US, where he could face prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of leaked US military and diplomatic documents. Recently Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno touched upon the issue of expelling Assange from the embassy, but noted that the UK must first guarantee the activist's safety.
His statements followed conflicting media reports that Ecuador might revoke Assange's asylum and that the whistleblower might leave voluntarily to due increasing health issues.
