WikiLeaks confirms Assange's cat is safe

The feline had lived with Assange during his seven-year stay at the Ecuadorian embassy since May 2016, when she was gifted to him as a pet by his children.

In a tweet accompanied by a video of the animal sat in front of footage of Assange's arrest, WikiLeaks said: "We can confirm that Assange's cat is safe.

"Assange asked his lawyers to rescue him from embassy threats in mid-October. They will be reunited in freedom."

Assange's pet had become popular on social media in recent years, appearing dressed in a tie and collar in the window of the embassy in November 2016.

Assange received the cat when she was just 10 weeks old - and when she made a cameo appearance during a live broadcast on the night of the EU referendum, he referred to her simply as "Embassy Cat".

Embassy Cat even has an unverified Twitter account with more than 30,000 followers.

Using the hashtags FreeAssange and NoExtradition, the WikiLeaks tweet also called for Assange not to be extradited to the US.

The 47-year-old faces up to 12 months in a British prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, while the US charge could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, according to the US Department of Justice.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he fears more charges will be added, meaning Assange could face decades in a US prison.

Australian Associated Press