Julian Assange is now a citizen of Ecuador
Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in asylum at the nation's embassy in London for more than five years.
The nation's foreign minister announced today that officials had decided to permit Mr Assange's naturalisation while they look for ways to resolve his situation.
Ecuador gave Mr Assange political asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims.
Sweden dropped the case, though Mr Assange has remained in the embassy because he is still subject to arrest in the UK for jumping bail.
The UK's Foreign Office said today it had rejected Ecuador's request to grant diplomatic status to Mr Assange, who was born in Australia.
