Julian Assange: British Government denies Ecuadorian request for 'safe passage' to get Wikileaks founder to a hospital

Assange’s doctor says he needs an MRI scan on his shoulder

Julian Assange has been harboured by the Ecuadorian in London since 2012 (Getty)

The Ecuadorian Government is calling for Julian Assange to be allowed a “safe passage” from the Ecuadorian Embassy to a hospital.

The Wikileaks founder has been living in the Embassy since being granted asylum there three years ago. Ecuador’s Foreign Office said he needs to undergo an MRI scan on his shoulder to determine the cause of pain he is suffering, but he faces immediate arrest if he leaves the building.

The Ecuadorian government said it contacted the British Foreign Office on 30 September with a request that Assange be allowed to visit a hospital. It said this request was rejected.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino presented a letter from Assange’s doctor to a press conference.

The letter read: "He has been suffering with a constant pain to the right shoulder region for the past three months [since June 2015]. There is no history of acute injury to the area. I examined him and all movements of his shoulder (abduction, internal rotation and external rotation) are limited due to pain.

"I am unable to elicit the exact cause of his symptoms without the benefit of further diagnostic tests, [including] MRI."

His layer Carey Shenkman said in a statement: ”By claiming that Mr Assange must give up his asylum in order to receive medical treatment, the UK government is forcing him to choose between the human right to asylum and the human right to medical treatment.

"No one should ever have to face that choice. Sweden and the United Kingdom have the responsibility to ensure that Assange's basic rights are respected. They should agree without further delay to permit Mr Assange's safe passage to a hospital on humanitarian grounds.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “There is no question that the British authorities would in any way seek to impede Mr Assange receiving medical advice or care. We have made this clear to the government of Ecuador.”

Additional reporting by the Press Association