By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
The founder and editor-in-chief of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has asked French President Francois Hollande to grant him asylum.
In an open letter published by French daily Le Monde on Friday, Julian Assange pleaded with Hollande, claiming his life was in danger.
However, the WikiLeaks founder did not have to wait long for an answer.
The French presidency issued a statement reading: "France has received the letter from Mr Assange. A closer examination shows that when taking account of the legal elements and the situation of Mr. Assange, France cannot act on his request."
"The situation of Mr Assange presents no immediate danger. He is also the subject of a European Arrest Warrant."
Assange has been living in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 19, 2012, to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted over rape and sexual misconduct allegations from August 2010.
Ecuador granted Assange political asylum in 2012, despite pressure from the United Kingdom. Assange fears that the Scandinavian country would turn him over to the U.S. for releasing thousands of top-secret confidential intelligence documents on his WikiLeaks site.
"I am a journalist who has been pursued and threatened with death by the U.S. authorities because of my professional activities," Assange wrote in today’s letter.
"My life is now in danger, Mr President, and my personal integrity, physical and psychological, are each day that passes, a bit more threatened," he added.
Assange opened the letter by representing himself as "Julian Paul Assange, born on July 3rd, 1971 in Townsville, Australia," and the founder of WikiLeaks.
"I have never been formally charged with an offense or a common crime, anywhere in the world, including Sweden and the U.K.," Assange wrote.
Assange detailed his existence in the confines of the Ecuadorian embassy and claimed some of his colleagues' lives are also in danger.
He also wrote about close British intelligence surveillance and how he is unable to see his children.
Assange argued that the French constitution obliges the country "to protect those who fight for freedoms and whose lives are threatened.
"By welcoming me, it would be a humanitarian gesture by France," he said.
Assange’s request comes a week after WikiLeaks published a report entitled Espionnage Elysee (‘Elysee Spying’), which details claims of "NSA surveillance of communications of French presidents Francois Hollande (2012–present), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012), and Jacques Chirac (1995–2007), as well as French cabinet ministers and the French ambassador to the United States".
Last month, French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said she "wouldn't be surprised" if France decides to offer asylum to National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and Assange.
Taubira told French news channel BFMTV that it would be a "symbolic gesture".
