'Assange's status for Ecuador to decide'

A former British diplomat says his nation has no right to refuse diplomatic immunity for Julian Assange.

On Thursday, Ecuador announced it had naturalised the Australian as part of its bid to free the WikiLeaks founder from its London embassy, where he's been holed up for more than five years.

It came after the UK rejected a request that Assange be given diplomatic immunity so he could freely leave the embassy.

Craig Murray, a former UK ambassador and human rights activist, says that from his legal analysis, the UK can't refuse Ecuador's request.

"It is for the government of Ecuador, not the UK, to determine who is an Ecuadorian citizen," Mr Murray said in an emailed statement. "It is for the government of Ecuador, not the UK, to determine who is an Ecuadorian diplomat."

Ecuador granted the 46-year-old asylum in 2012 as he tried to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations that have since been dropped.

Assange still fears being sent to the US to face charges over WikiLeaks' release of secret US government documents.

On Thursday, the British foreign office said it was in talks with Ecuador to resolve the mater but pressed "Assange to leave the embassy to face justice".

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