Keeping Julian Assange safe in London's Ecuadorian embassy proved an expensive undertaking, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reports, citing former members of the whistleblower's security team.
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Assange, an Australian, was holed up in the embassy in London for seven years. On Thursday, the WikiLeaks founder was dragged out by British police, after Quito revoked his asylum status.
His Spanish security guards told the paper on Sunday that in 2016, they flew in a plumber from Spain at a cost of $US4500 to repair Assange's toilet.
There had been fears that a local plumber might bug the toilet.
Assange, whom they referred to as "the guest" or "El Juli" - a shortening of his first name - liked to sleep in and even though he was not allowed to leave the embassy building received many celebrity visitors, among them Lady Gaga, Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon, and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, the report says.
The Spaniards also observed eccentric behaviour. Assange gave TV interviews in his underpants, dressed only from the belt upwards, the part of his body visible on the screen.
According to the report, he also let himself go and didn't flush the toilet after using it. He also annoyed the embassy staff by cooking in a small room on an electric hotplate.
Assange whiled away the time in the embassy by skateboarding or playing ball in the hallway, his former protectors said.
The Cadiz, Spain-based security company was paid by a secret service in Quito.
Their mission ended in 2017, when the moderate President Lenin Moreno took office, replacing left-wing Rafael Correa.
Australian Associated Press
