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Assange: President Hollande 'stabbed me in the back'

Julian Assange has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, and has since been seeking asylum in various countries. His latest blow is being rejected from asylum in France, seemingly a show of solidarity between President Francois Hollande and the US and UK. Read the report from The Daily Star in partial below; in full here.

PARIS: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed in an interview published Friday that President Francois Hollande “stabbed me in the back” by rejecting his request for asylum in France.

The head of the whistleblowing website told Society magazine that France’s rejection of his request in July followed discussions at the highest levels.

“There had been direct contact between Francois Hollande and me. Text messages were exchanged through my French legal advisor. The French president gave encouraging signs,” Assange said, in comments translated from French.

“In a way, his (final) response was a stab in the back,” Assange said.

“What pushed him to change his mind between the first exchanges and his final public response?” Assange asked.

He said: “Perhaps he wanted to look strong, not to the French, but to the United States and the United Kingdom, to be loyal to them. Publicly rejecting such a request was a way of doing that.”