As dozens of supporters massed outside its London embassy, Ecuadorian officials late Friday denied reports that they had been planning to unilaterally revoke the asylum first granted to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in 2012, expelling the controversial journalist from their London embassy and handing him over to British police for arrest on charges that he skipped out on his bail - which would have likely set in motion a chain of events ending with Assange's extradition to the US.

Bloomberg reports that Ecuador denied it had been planning to oust Assange, as Wikileaks initially reported earlier this week, though some are skeptical, believing instead that the Ecuadorian backed down under pressure from the UN. Of note, is the fact that Ecuador's foreign minister tweeted about mechanisms for revoking Assange's asylum.

However, reports about his impending expulsion drew the scrutiny of UN human rights officials.