British police have arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who had been living in Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 to avoid arrest and extradition.
Police in the UK capital on Thursday said they arrested the Australian national after being "invited into the embassy by the ambassador, following the Ecuadorean government's withdrawal of asylum".
Footage appeared to show police dragging a bearded Assange from the embassy and putting him into a police van.
In a statementon Thursday, London's Metropolitan Police said Assange had been "taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible".
Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from outside the court where Assange's hearing took place later on Thursday, said that as well as being arrested for the charge of skipping bail, Assange had been "further arrested" for charges he faces in the United States.
Assange pleaded not guilty to the charge of breaking the terms of his bail, but was convicted. He will be sentenced at a later date when he will face a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison for the offence.
He is due to appear in court via video link on the issue of extradition to the US on May 2.
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