Police: Assange also arrested on US extradition

London police say they have arrested Julian Assange on extradition charges to the United States, as well as for breaching U.K. bail conditions.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks on the balcony of the Embassy of Ecuador in London on May 19, 2017. [File photo: AFP]

Scotland Yard said in a statement Thursday that Assange was "further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act."

The WikiLeaks founder sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, after he was released on bail while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations. The accusations have since been dropped but he was still wanted for jumping bail.

Separately, he has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for years for WikiLeaks' role in publishing thousands of government secrets.