WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be expelled within 'hours to days' from Ecuador embassy; arrest likely

A WikiLeaks tweets posted on Friday reported that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be expelled within "hours to days" from the Ecuador embassy and that there already exists an agreement with the United Kingdom for his arrest.

"A high-level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext--and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest," the tweet read.

The development comes just a few days after the Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno blamed the site for recent allegations of corruption in local outlets and the publication of family photos to social media.

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Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno told radio stations on Tuesday that Assange has "repeatedly violated" the terms of his asylum in the Andean nation's London embassy, where he has lived for nearly seven years, news agency Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt today called Assange "a free man" and that he can leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London whenever he wants to, Reuters reported.

"Well Julian Assange is a free man, he can leave the embassy whenever he wants to. So, we want the situation resolved as quickly as possible," Hunt noted.

Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange was wanted by the Swedish authorities for a sexual assault investigation; the probe was later dropped.

However, Assange fears he could be extradited to face charges in the United States, where federal prosecutors are investigating WikiLeaks.

(With inputs from Reuters)