The 67 year old diplomat, Juan Falconi Puig said that Assange was “suffering” in custody but could remain there for a long time after the Wikileaks founder lost a Supreme Court bid to stop his extradition to Sweden, where the 42-year-old Australian is wanted for questioning over rape allegations, The Times reports.

Assange is “not a fugitive”, Falconi stressed, reminding that Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, granted him asylum on human rights grounds – and that Assange, if eventually extradited to the US, would face persecution and could even be tortured.