Ecuador tells Assange to curb speech, look after cat

Julian Assange has reportedly been instructed to keep the Ecuadorean embassy clean and threatened with the confiscation of his pet cat if he does not look after it. (AP Photo)

• Ecuador has formally ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to steer clear of topics that could harm its diplomatic interests
• Assange has been living at the embassy since 2012, when the Australian ex-hacker applied for asylum

LONDON: A media report says that Ecuador has formally ordered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to steer clear of topics that could harm its diplomatic interests.
The nine-page memo published Monday by the Ecuadorean website Codigo Vidrio says Assange is prohibited from “interfering in the internal affairs of other states.”
The document also orders Assange to keep the embassy clean, threatening to confiscate Assange’s pet cat if he does not look after it.
The Associated Press could not immediately authenticate the document, but Codigo Vidrio has a track record of publishing inside material from within the London embassy. Messages left with Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry and WikiLeaks representatives were not immediately returned.
Assange has been living at the embassy since 2012, when the Australian ex-hacker applied for asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden.