"Important background for journalists covering the arrest of Julian #Assange by Ecuador: the United Nations formally ruled his detention to be arbitrary, a violation of human rights. They have repeatedly issued statements calling for him to walk free — including very recently", Snowden wrote on Twitter.
He also posted a screenshot with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights's statement, dated 21 December 2018, demanding the United Kingdom abide by its international obligations and immediately let Assange "walk free" from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Assange is currently being held in custody. His mother said on Twitter, citing his lawyer, that the activist was likely to appear before a UK magistrates' court within 24 hours.
The activist has repeatedly said that he feared extradition to the United States due to the fact that he had published thousands of leaked classified US government documents, exposing American atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan.