Julian Assange to be granted asylum in Ecuador according to reports

The decision was taken by Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, after examining a large amount of international law, according to The Guardian.

The 41-year-old Australian has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 19 after he failed to overturn the decision to extradite him to Sweden to face rape charges.

However, the exact practicalities of Assange's proposed exit from the UK remain unclear. The police have suggested that he has breached his bail and will therefore be arrested when he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy.

"For Mr Assange to leave England, he should have a safe pass from the British]. Will that be possible? That's an issue we have to take into account," Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, told Reuters.

Assange fears that if extradited to Sweden he could be in turn extradited to the United States, where he could face the death penalty for his role in the leaking of US government cables.

Image via Getty