Julian Assange defies police to stay at Ecuador embassy

A member of the WikiLeaks founder's defence fund says Julian Assange is refusing a police summons and will not be leaving the Ecuador embassy in London until he hears about his asylum bid. Police had demanded that the WikiLeaks founder report to a London police station on Friday, the first step in what would have been his extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations. But Susan Benn, a member of his defence fund team, said he would rebuff the UK authorities. "Mr Assange has been advised that he should decline the police request," she told reporters gathered outside the embassy, saying that the 40-year-old Australian was seeking asylum from Ecuador and that "asylum assessments take priority over extradition claims". She added that he would remain inside the embassy until his asylum application had been fully considered. Mr Assange argues that the sex claims made against him by two Swedish women in 2010 have been manipulated by his enemies and that extradition to Sweden is a first step in a plan to fly him to the US, where officials are investigating him and his secret-spilling website over the disclosures of confidential government documents.