LONDON — British police served an extradition notice Thursday on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has taken refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in London and requested asylum.
Scotland Yard said they had served a “surrender notice” on the 40-year-old Australian requiring him to appear at a police station, adding that failure to do so would make him further liable to arrest.
Assange faces extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations, having exhausted his options under British law when the Supreme Court overturned his appeal against extradition earlier this month.
Fearing Stockholm would pass him on to the United States, he sought refuge at Ecuador’s embassy in London on June 19, asking the South American country for political asylum.
Scotland Yard has “served a surrender notice upon a 40-year-old man that requires him to attend a police station at date and time of our choosing,” a spokesman said.
“This is standard practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal process.
“He remains in breach of his bail conditions. Failing to surrender would be a further breach of conditions and he is liable to arrest.”
The embassy declined to comment on the serving of the police notice.
Assange fears he will be extradited from Sweden to the United States to face possible espionage charges, after releasing more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website.