Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been hiding for more than five years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, has received a civilian ID from the South American country, DPA and Reuters reported.

The number 1729926483 corresponds to the province of Pichincha in the central part of Ecuador, according to Universe. According to Assange's edition, a passport could also have been issued. Reuters has opened a Julian Paul Assange registration in Ecuador's civil registry, which includes only Ecuadorian citizens. A Registrer spokesman refused to comment on whether this meant that he had received citizenship. Following the publication of the information, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would not respond to "rumors, distorted or circumstantial information" on the Assange case.

The Australian lives in a small office in the Ecuadorian embassy after Quito gave him asylum in 2012 when Sweden was investigating him for sex crimes. Swedish authorities withdrew charges but Assange says he fears being arrested and extradited to the United States for the publication of confidential documents on Iraqi and Afghanistan wars on the online platform. The British government has rejected an application from Ecuador to grant a diplomatic status to WikiLeaks founder. This was announced today by the Guardian, referring to a spokesman for the Forino office, TASS reported.

"The government of Ecuador has recently asked Mr Assange to be granted diplomatic status here in the UK, and the United Kingdom did not approve of this request and did not negotiate on the matter," the spokesman quoted the newspaper as saying. He added that, as the South American authorities know, the only way for Assange to resolve is to leave the embassy and face the court.

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