A great day!!!! My hat off to the president and people of Ecuador.

Shame on The UK, US and Sweden.

________________________________________________________

(CNN) -- Ecuador granted Julian Assange asylum over fears of political

persecution Thursday, but it was hardly a reprieve as Britain vowed to

extradite the WikiLeaks founder to Sweden to face questioning on sex

crime charges.

Assange, the publisher of hundreds of thousands of secret U.S.

government documents, has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in

London since June.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said Thursday there is

credible fear that if Assange is sent to Sweden, he could be

subsequently be extradited to the United States, where he could be

charged with espionage and treason.

In the United States, there are no guarantees that Assange would

receive a fair trial or that he wouldn't be subject to a military or

secret tribunal, Patiño added.

"The Ecuadorian government, after carrying out a fair and objective

analysis of the situation presented by Mr. Assange and evaluating his

oral and written arguments, has decided that there's cause to presume

that he could be the target of political persecution or that such

persecution could happen if no timely and necessary measures are taken

to prevent it," Patiño said.

Ecuador asked Britain to guarantee safe passage for Assange and to

respect its decision.

But the UK said it was disappointed by the decision and restated its

position that Britain is obligated to extradite Assange to Sweden.

"We shall carry out that obligation. The Ecuadorian government's

decision this afternoon does not change that," the UK Foreign Office

said in a statement.

Britain wants a negotiated solution that will result in extradition.

Patiño preceded his announcement Thursday with a lengthy argument

against any British action against Ecuador's embassy in London. In

remarks Wednesday, he said the Ecuadorian government had received a

written notice from British authorities that they would "assault" the

country's embassy in London if Ecuadorian officials failed to hand over

Assange.

The British say one of their laws allows for it to enter the embassy

and arrest Assange. Patiño cited a laundry list of international

treaties and conventions that he said make it clear that it is illegal

to enter another country's embassy.

The UK, in effect, is saying "we are going to savagely hit you

depending on how you behave," Patiño said.

The foreign minister outlined 11 conclusions that Ecuador reached in

reviewing the WikiLeaks founder's asylum request. In short, Ecuador

found that Assange has a credible fear of persecution for his ideas and

politics. The government described him as an activist for freedom of

the press and freedom of expression who would be silenced if sent to

Sweden, and possibly, the United States.

"There are strong indications of retaliation by the country or

countries who produced the information divulged by Mr. Assange,

reprisals that could put at risk his security, integrity and even his

life," the Ecuadorian government concluded.

Assange and his supporters claim that a grand jury has been empaneled

in the United States to consider charges against him.

WikiLeaks condemned Britain's vow that it would enter the embassy in a

statement released early Thursday.

"A threat of this nature is a hostile and extreme act, which is not

proportionate to the circumstances, and an unprecedented assault on the

rights of asylum seekers worldwide," the statement said.

British police arrested at least two protesters outside the Ecuadorian

embassy in London before the asylum announcement was made.

Assange embassy gamble follows famous precedents

The Foreign Office said there was a larger "police presence outside

the British embassy in Quito" than at the Ecuadorian mission in

London.

Assange has been holed up there since petitioning for asylum in June.

He is seeking to avoid being sent to Sweden over claims of rape and

sexual molestation, and said he fears that if extradited, Swedish

authorities could eventually hand him over to the United States.

Assange was arrested in Britain in 2010 because Swedish authorities

wanted to question him about the allegations. Two women have accused

him of sexually assaulting them during an August 2010 visit to Sweden

in connection with a WikiLeaks release of internal U.S. military

documents. Assange denies the allegations and argues they are in

retribution for his organization's disclosure of American secrets.

Why Assange needs Ecuador and Ecuador needs Assange

His bail conditions required he spend his nights at the home of a

supporter outside London. He is subject to arrest for breaking the

terms of his bail, London's Metropolitan Police said the day after he

entered the embassy.

WikiLeaks has published about 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, causing

embarrassment to the U.S. government and others. It also has published

hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents relating to the

conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange sought refuge at the embassy five days after the Supreme Court

in Britain dismissed his bid to reopen his appeal of the decision to

send him to Sweden, his last option in British courts.

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