LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuador embassy in London on Thursday, where he has been since 2012, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Assange has not left the embassy since August 2012 because he was afraid he would be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for releasing thousands of classified military and diplomatic files through his website.

The 47-year-old Australian computer programmer was taken to a central London police station before being sent to the "Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible," authorities in London said.

Both the Metropolitan Police and WikiLeaks said the Ecuadorian ambassador invited authorities into the embassy and arrested Assange.

Home Secretary of the United Kingdom Sajid Javid confirmed via Twitter that Assange was arrested.

WikiLeaks claimed that Ecuador illegally ended Assange's political asylum for violating international law.

It has been reported that Assange's relationship with the Ecuadorian government has turned tense recently. Ecuador placed protocols on Assange in October. Some of the rules include visits, medical spending, food and internet usage, among other things. 

However, WikiLeaks came out and claimed that Ecuadorian authorities secretly filmed meetings Assange had with his lawyers and a doctor.

Ecuador President Lenín Moreno explained why the country withdrew its diplomatic asylum to Assange in an English-captioned video he posted on Twitter.

Ecuador's former president Rafael Correa called Moreno a "corrupt man" and slammed him for allowing British police to arrest Assange, calling it "a crime that humanity will never forget."

Assange has been dealing with legal issues. He was accused of rape, but the case was later dropped. In addition, there was a warrant for his arrest in Britain for failing to comply with bail terms.