Ecuador grants Julian Assange asylum

At a news conference in Quito, Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino makes the announcement on the future of controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ECUADORIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, RICARDO PATINO, SAYING:

"Ecuador has decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange following the request sent to the president."

Patino argued that Assange's security was at risk, that extradition to a third country without proper guarantees was probable, and legal evidence showed he would not have a fair trial if eventually transferred to the United States.

The former computer hacker enraged Washington in 2010 when his file sharing website WikiLeaks published classified U.S. diplomatic cables.

Britain says it's determined to extradite Assange to Sweden, where he's accused of rape and sexual assault.

The UK government has also threatened to storm Ecuador's embassy in London, where Assange sought Asylum two months ago, and break him out - a threat described by Ecuador as "brutal".