Had he remained under arrest, how could he have sought asylum with some other embassy?
"Mr. Copper, I've decided to seek asylum with the Ecuadorian embassy..." "Well, Mr. Assange, I sure hate to see you go but I guess I'll drive you there myself."
Apparently something is missing here. How did he get from being in custody to seeking asylum in an embassy? Somewhere along the way he was not in custody. Why was he not in the custody of law enforcement? They had no reason to hold him? He was out on bail? If he was out on bail, lost an appeal, why didn't he return to custody?
If they didn't want him walking around (where he could claim asylum in an embassy) then he should have been in custody. If he wasn't in custody, there must have been a reason he wasn't. Sounds to me like they (law enforcement) screwed up and they're now trying to blame an Ecuadorian ambassador.
"Mr. Copper, I've decided to seek asylum with the Ecuadorian embassy..." "Well, Mr. Assange, I sure hate to see you go but I guess I'll drive you there myself."