Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gave mixed signals about his immediate future Monday, first indicating hes about to end his fugitive status, before an aide clarified that such a move is not imminent. <\/p>\n
Assange, 43, caused confusion by saying he is planning to soon leave the Ecuadoran Embassy in which hes been holed up in London. He then had his spokesman make clear that hell do that only when the limbo over his extradition is resolved. <\/p>\n
Stepping off the embassy grounds would mean near-certain arrest for the eccentric Australian, who is wanted in Sweden in sex crimes allegations. <\/p>\n
Assange has been holed up in the diplomatic office for more than two years, but says the fugitive life has been taking a toll. <\/p>\n
The embassy has no outside areas, no sunlight, Assange told reporters in the briefing broadcast live on the Internet. Its an environment in which any healthy person would find themselves soon enough with certain difficulties they would have to manage. <\/p>\n
Sources told the Mail on Sunday newspaper hes suffering from an irregular heartbeat, a chronic lung condition and high blood pressure, as well as a Vitamin D deficiency from the lack of sunlight. <\/p>\n
At his Monday news conference, Assange denied that he was planning on leaving because of his health, but said, I am leaving the embassy soon. <\/p>\n
As confused journalists sought clarification after the presser, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said his boss merely meant that hes ready to bolt once hes allowed to travel to Ecuador, which has granted him asylum. The plan is to leave as soon as the U.K. government decides to honor its obligations, Hrafnsson said. <\/p>\n
That has essentially been the master leakers position all along, and his status appears unchanged with Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who said Monday negotiations with Britain remain deadlocked. <\/p>\n
Assange sought refuge at the South American country in June 2012, after exhausting options in British courts to avoid extradition to face questioning on allegations of rape and molestation during a 2010 visit to Sweden. <\/p>\n
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