In taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Julian Assange joins a long list of people who have sought asylum in foreign embassies. Recent examples include Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun in the US consulate in Chengdu, and blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng in the US embassy in Beijing. However, although embassy premises are legally inviolable, general international law does not recognise a right of diplomatic asylum. Even if Ecuador does grant Assange asylum, the UK will not be obliged to grant him safe passage out of the country.
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