Quito (AFP) – A Swedish computer expert identified by Ecuador as a collaborator of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Friday that he will be deported from that country after his arrest by Immigration agents on the grounds that his visa was revoked.

First modification: 02/10/2026 - 21:10

Initially accused of an alleged attack on state computer systems, Ola Bini was temporarily detained in Quito on April 11, 2019, the same day that Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he was granted asylum for almost seven years to avoid his extradition to Sweden for an alleged rape case.

The government of then-president Lenín Moreno (2017-2021), which revoked the Ecuadorian nationality and diplomatic asylum granted to the Australian, said that Bini was a key member of WikiLeaks, close to its founder and that he was linked to destabilization attempts against the Executive.

"A secret report says that I am a threat to Ecuador, so they deported me immediately, without the judge even waiting for the habeas corpus that was presented before the hearing" to establish his immigration status, the Swede stated on the X network after being detained on Thursday when leaving a supermarket.

On Friday at mid-morning he published that he was at the Quito airport waiting to be deported. "I do not regret having come to Ecuador. And I hope to have helped, even a little, with the country's cybersecurity," where he had remained since 2013, he indicated.

The Ecuadorian authorities have not provided any information.

His lawyer Carlos Soria also said for X that an administrative official ordered the "immediate deportation" of Bini "without any reason or evidence."

"All under the excuse that they are secret reports because, supposedly, Ola had committed acts against the security of the Ecuadorian State. Today Ola will be deported and his entry into the country will be prohibited for 10 years," he added.

According to this lawyer, a trial for the alleged crime of non-consensual access to computer systems, which the Swede was facing and which is punishable by up to five years in prison in Ecuador, has already "prescribed."

"All precautionary measures were lifted," added the lawyer.

Julian Assange was released from a British prison in 2024 following an agreement with the United States Department of Justice, through which the Australian pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act for disclosing national defense material.

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.