Sweden drops Assange rape investigation after nearly 10 years
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A Swedish prosecutor dropped an investigation
into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,
ending the near decade-old case that had sent the anti-secrecy
campaigner into hiding in London’s Ecuadorian embassy to avoid
extradition.
Although the prosecutor’s decision can be appealed, it probably closes the case, which was launched in 2010. The accuser’s lawyer said she was studying whether to appeal it.
Assange, an Australian citizen, skipped bail in Britain to avoid possible extradition and took refuge in the embassy in 2012. He was dragged out by police in April this year, and is now in jail in Britain fighting extradition to the United States on separate computer hacking and espionage charges.
While Assange was in the embassy, the statute of limitations ran out on investigating all but one of several Swedish sex crime complaints originally filed by two women. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson reopened the remaining case after Assange left the embassy, but she said on Tuesday the passage of time meant there was not enough evidence to indict Assange.
“After conducting a comprehensive assessment of what has emerged during the course of the preliminary investigation I then make the assessment that the evidence is not strong enough to form the basis for filing an indictment,” Persson told a news conference.
“Nine years have passed. Time is a player in this decision.”
Assange, 48, has repeatedly denied the sex crime allegations and said they were part of a plot to discredit him and secure his eventual transfer to the United States, which unveiled charges against him only after he left the embassy.
Since leaving the embassy, Assange has served a British sentence for skipping bail. He is now being held pending his next hearing in February on the U.S. extradition request. He faces 18 criminal counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law.
https://www.oann.com/sweden-says-it-is-dropping-assange-rape-investigation/
Although the prosecutor’s decision can be appealed, it probably closes the case, which was launched in 2010. The accuser’s lawyer said she was studying whether to appeal it.
Assange, an Australian citizen, skipped bail in Britain to avoid possible extradition and took refuge in the embassy in 2012. He was dragged out by police in April this year, and is now in jail in Britain fighting extradition to the United States on separate computer hacking and espionage charges.
While Assange was in the embassy, the statute of limitations ran out on investigating all but one of several Swedish sex crime complaints originally filed by two women. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson reopened the remaining case after Assange left the embassy, but she said on Tuesday the passage of time meant there was not enough evidence to indict Assange.
“After conducting a comprehensive assessment of what has emerged during the course of the preliminary investigation I then make the assessment that the evidence is not strong enough to form the basis for filing an indictment,” Persson told a news conference.
“Nine years have passed. Time is a player in this decision.”
Assange, 48, has repeatedly denied the sex crime allegations and said they were part of a plot to discredit him and secure his eventual transfer to the United States, which unveiled charges against him only after he left the embassy.
Since leaving the embassy, Assange has served a British sentence for skipping bail. He is now being held pending his next hearing in February on the U.S. extradition request. He faces 18 criminal counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law.
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