Julian Assange seen skateboarding inside Ecuadorian embassy in newly released security footage
Days after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's arrest from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, security footage obtained by the Spanish-language newspaper El Pais shows a pale-looking Assange stumbling around on a board inside the building.
Assange had sought asylum at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London seven years ago in an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that was later dropped. He was also afraid of his extradition to the United States. His fears came true last week on Thursday when Metropolitan Police in the UK hauled the 47-year-old from inside the Embassy and detained him.
Assange, in the newly-released clip, can be seen wearing a blue tank top and shorts as he attempts to move forward on a skateboard bare feet. However, he loses his balance and falls off. He then attempts again and succeeds in moving ahead a few feet.
Although it is not clear when the footage was taken, it reportedly came from the Spanish security company Undercover Global SL, which was tasked with protecting the WikiLeaks founder until 2017, according to the New York Post.
Assange, who was found guilty of breaching his bail at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week, faces a sentence of up to 12 months for the conviction and has serious charges pending in the United States. The Department of Justice released a statement last Thursday, announcing a criminal charge against Assange, accusing him of conspiring to hack into a classified US government computer. The charge relates to Assange’s alleged role in "one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States."
Reports alleged that during his seven-year stint in the Embassy in London, Assange smeared poop on walls, left dirty dishes out, blasted loud music and went days without washing or changing his clothes.
A few days before Assange's arrest, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson claimed that his organization had uncovered a spying operation inside the Embassy. Hrafnsson said that some "Spanish individuals" sent the organization photos, documents video and audio recordings chronicling Assange’s every step in the embassy.