The British won't let Assange see a doctor

Britain has refused to allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012, to see a doctor for an MRI after he had severe pain in his right shoulder.

Assange faces arrest if he leaves the embassy building where he sought refuge after breaching bail, while authorities in Sweden are seeking him to face charges of sexual assault.

Assange denies all accusations and fears that if Great Britain extradits him to Sweden, he would be extradited to the USA, where he would be tried for one of the biggest leaks in American history, since he published American military and diplomatic documents five years ago.

"We have asked the British government to grant Assange unimpeded passage for humanitarian reasons and in coordination with Ecuador," Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said yesterday at a press conference in the capital Quito.

"We received an answer from Britain that he can go for any medical examination whenever he wants, but that the European warrant for his arrest is still valid. In other words, he can leave, but he will be placed in prison," Patino said. .

He pointed out that his government will not renew its original request, which is that Assange be given a special permit to travel to Ecuador, undergo an MRI and return to London.

Patino held a news conference two days after British police withdrew their officers deployed outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, but said they would still do everything possible to arrest him.

In the police statement on that occasion, it was stated that "there is no hint of an immediate diplomatic or legal solution to the issue" and that the 24-hour police presence "is no longer proportionate".

The operation was controversial in part because of the cost, and according to data from the London police, 2015 million pounds ($11,1 million) had been spent on it by April 17,6, the AP reported.

Swedish prosecutors dropped part of the charges against Assange, 44, in August, but they still want to question him in relation to rape allegations dating back to 2010.