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Meet WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange’s Cute and Cuddly Embassy Cat

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
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Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 10, 2016, 7:20 PM ET
Julian Assange
This is an undated handout photo issued by Sunshine Press made available Tuesday May 10, 2016 of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a kitten in Ecuador's embassy in London . It may not be so lonely for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the embassy quarters he's called home for nearly four years. Now he has a kitten to keep him company.The kitten had not been named yet. (Sunshine Press/Wikileaks via AP)Sunshine Press/Wikileaks via AP

Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, has a feline friend, ā€œembassy cat.ā€

The pet, a gift from Assange’s children, has no official name yet, reports the Daily Mail. On Twitter, however, the 10-week-old kitten goes by @EmbassyCat.

ā€œI live in the Ecuadorian Embassy with Julian Assange,ā€ the cat’s Twitter bio reads. ā€œInterested in counter-purrveillance.ā€

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Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for four years, facing extradition to Sweden for even longer. Swedish authorities have been seeking his extradition since 2010 for questioning following allegations that he sexually assaulted two women, which he has denied.

Assange refuses to leave the embassy for fear that doing so will lead to his arrest and extradition to the United States on potential charges for his role in disseminating state secrets through WikiLeaks.

For more cute animals, watch:

Since its founding a decade ago, WikiLeaks has published confidential documents stolen from sources such as governments (like the U.S.’s massive diplomatic cables leak), corporations (like the Sony (SNE) Pictures data dump), and public figures (like top U.S. intelligence officials’ hacked personal email accounts). Say what you will about Assange and his uncompromising brand of Internet activism—the cat is undeniably cute.

Here are some of the Embassy Cat’s Tweets:

Welcome! Cat got your chin-rest?

New home! I've arrived! pic.twitter.com/N7PeuSti4I

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) May 9, 2016

No, Embassy Cat! Don’t be fooled!

(Fun fact: the British stopped stationing police outside the embassy in the fall, after spending a reported £12.6 million.)

Everyone loves me! Looks who's shown up to greet me! šŸ˜»šŸ’¢ #nodogsnomasters #counterpurrveillance pic.twitter.com/IZavaOY51m

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) May 9, 2016

Confirmed: Even more adorable from the front.

.@namangels 😺 pic.twitter.com/KSZv6zKzSr

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) May 9, 2016

Better stretch. You might be cooped up in that office for…a while.

Exciting first day but finally settled down and feline fine 😺 pic.twitter.com/GeMtAy0a3v

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) May 9, 2016

Already plotting a getaway? And without an escape dress??

Nothing suspicious under here… 😼 #counterpurrveillance pic.twitter.com/k5udp0zTJS

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) May 10, 2016

In February, a United Nations panel said that Assange is being ā€œarbitrarily detainedā€ and that his confinement ā€œshould be brought to an end.ā€ The Swedish Supreme Court, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to agree.

At least he’s got some company now.

About the Author
Robert Hackett
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