Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was granted Ecuadorian citizenship on 21 December 2017, the country's foreign minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, has confirmed. Assange, who began the application in September, has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, when he was granted political asylum. Espinosa said Ecuador is following all national and international laws and is dedicated to protecting the human rights of Assange in this delicate case. However, the UK Foreign Ministry said that Assange still faces arrest for breaching bail conditions if he leaves the embassy.