WikiLeaks' Assange arrested at Ecuador embassy in London

London police say they have arrested Julian Assange on extradition charges to the United States, as well as for breaching U.K. bail conditions.

Scotland Yard said in a statement Thursday that Assange was "further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act."

The WikiLeaks founder sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, after he was released on bail while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations. The accusations have since been dropped but he was still wanted for jumping bail.

Separately, he has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for years for WikiLeaks' role in publishing thousands of government secrets.

12:05 p.m.

A senior member of Germany's opposition Left party says Europe must not allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States for trial.

Sevim Dagdelen said in a statement that the withdrawal of Assange's political asylum by Ecuador and his subsequent arrest by British police was a "scandal, a violation of international law, and at the same time a severe blow to independent journalism."

She says it is the German government's "duty" now to prevent Britain, which earlier Thursday was granted an extension to its departure from the European Union, from extraditing Assange to the U.S., "where he faces life imprisonment or even the death penalty for exposing U.S. war crimes."

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12 p.m.

Julian Assange's attorney Jennifer Robinson says the WikiLeaks founder had been arrested on an extradition request from the United States as well as on charges of breaching his bail conditions.

In a tweet, Robinson said Assange "has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request."

The U.S. Justice Department inadvertently revealed the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange in a court filing last year. It's not clear what he's been accused of.

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked a trove of classified material to WikiLeaks, was jailed last month after she refused to testify before a grand jury.

In a statement Thursday, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said: "We are aware of the reports that Julian Assange was taken into custody by United Kingdom authorities."

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11:50 a.m.

The Swedish woman who alleged that she was raped by Julian Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 has welcomed his arrest in London.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the unnamed woman, says news of Assange's arrest earlier Thursday came as "a shock to my client" and that it was something "we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012."

Massi Fritz said in a text message sent to The Associated Press that "we are going to do everything" to have the Swedish case reopened "so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape."

Massi Fritz said "no rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served."

In 2017, Sweden's top prosecutor dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, saying there was no way to have Assange detained or charged within a foreseeable future because of his protected status inside the embassy.

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