Quito withdraws Assange's Ecuador citizenship

President Lenin Moreno's government withdrew the Ecuadoran citizenship granted Julian Assange, acting before the WikiLeak founder's arrest in London Thursday, Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said.

Assange was evicted from Ecuador's embassy in London and arrested by British police, ending a nearly seven year standoff after Quito ended asylum for the Australian-born fugitive.

Moreno tweeted that Ecuador acted within its "sovereign rights" when it withdrew Assange's asylum "for repeatedly violating international conventions and the protocol of co-habitation."
Ecuador's president said that his country "has fulfilled its obligations in the framework of international law," while Assange "violated, repeatedly, clear-cut provisions of the (diplomatic asylum) conventions."