Julian Assange is concerned not about any proceedings in Sweden as such, but believe that his deportation to Sweden could lead to politically motivated deportation to the United States, where he could face severe penalties, up to the death sentence, for his activities related to WikiLeaks. On 16 August 2012, Foreign Minister Patiño announced that Ecuador was granting Assange political asylum because of the threat represented by the United States secret investigation against him and several calls for assassination from many American politicians. In its formal statement, Ecuador reasoned that "as a consequence of [Assange's] determined defense to freedom of expression and
Julian Assange published its opinion on Assange's asylum in a press statement that had been requested by Rafael Correa's government. According to Doughty Street, the ruling was made shortly after US Vice President Mike Pence raised the issue of Assange while on a visit to Ecuador. The ruling upheld the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights from deporting foreign individuals when such a deportation would likely lead to their persecution "on account of race, nationality, religion, social status or political opinions". It concluded that the principle applies equally to diplomatic and territorial asylum. The decision,