The deputy head of British diplomacy, Alan Duncan, called WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a "poor little worm", Tanjug reports.
He assessed that Assange should leave the Equator embassy in London and surrender to British justice.
"It's about time that poor little worm left the embassy," Duncan wrote on Twitter, according to Reuters.
On the other hand, Assange replied to Duncan that it is better to be that than a snake.
"As a political prisoner imprisoned without charge for eight years, I suppose I must be 'miserable'. It's not bad to be 'small' although I prefer to be tall and better to be a 'worm' - a healthy being that enlivens the earth, than a snake," Assange wrote on Twitter.
As a political prisoner detained without charge for 8 years, in violation of 2 UN rulings, I suppose I must be "miserable"; yet nothing wrong with being a "little" person although I'm rather tall; and better a "worm", a healthy creature that invigorates the soil, than a snake.
— Julian Assange ⌛ (@JulianAssange) March 27, 2018
In a statement delivered to Reuters, he said that the real reason why he has legal problems is the fact that WikiLeaks publishes American diplomatic and military secrets and that he fears that if he leaves the embassy, he would risk being extradited to the USA.
Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, where he voluntarily went to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape charges.
In May last year, Swedish investigators withdrew the charge, but Assange would face charges of violating British law if he leaves the embassy.
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