Julian Assange: Sweden drops rape investigation
Julian Assange: Sweden drops rape investigation
A prosecutor who dragged questionable charges like this on in the US would be at risk of disciplinary action, perhaps even disbarment.
Quote:
Marianne Ny filed a request to the Stockholm District Court to revoke his arrest warrant, apparently ending a seven-year stand-off.
Mr Assange, 45, has lived in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, trying to avoid extradition.
He feared being extradited to the US if sent to Sweden.
He could face trial in the US over the leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.
A brief statement ahead of a press conference by the prosecutor later on Friday said: "Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange."
This article doesn't mention the facts behind the flimsy case against him. I suspect more articles will be published in the next few days.
Assange will probably be assassinated after he leaves the embassy.
Assange ~ Sweden drops Rape Case
Today
Julian Assange: Sweden Drops Rape Investigation Into WikiLeaks Founder
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ju...ounder-n761986
LONDON — A seven-year rape investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was dropped by Swedish prosecutors on Friday — but British police warned he still faced arrest.
Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny announced in a statement that she "has decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape" by Assange.
That means he is no longer facing any charges in Sweden, although Ny said it had not been determined whether he was guilty or innocent.
Authorities launched an investigation in 2010 after two women came forward accusing Assange of rape and sexual assault.
Assange took refuge in Ecuador's Embassy in London two years later to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about the sex-crime allegations.
The Australian national has been there ever since, fearing eventual extradition to the U.S. and a potential trial over the leaking of secret American documents.
Melinda Taylor, a member of Assange's legal team, welcomed the "wonderful news."
"Now all eyes are on the U.S. — that's the reason for his asylum," she told NBC News.
"As long as the national security prosecution continues there continues to be a risk to him."
London's Metropolitan Police said Assange remained a wanted man on Friday.
"Westminster Magistrates' Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the court on June 29, 2012," the force said in a statement.
"The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy."
Swedish officials withdrew a Europe-wide arrest warrant for Assange after coming to the conclusion that it would be impossible to bring him to Sweden, prosecutor Ny said.
"He has tried to dodge all attempts to avoid Swedish and British legal authorities," she told a press conference in Stockholm.
"My assessment is the transfer cannot be carried out in a foreseeable future."
Ny warned that the investigation of the alleged sexual offenses could be reopened if Assange visited Sweden before the statute of limitations expired in August 2020.
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Assange Rape Investigation Is Dropped in Sweden
Quote:
Julian Assange Rape Investigation Is Dropped in Sweden
By CHRISTINA ANDERSON and DAN BILEFSKYMAY 19, 2017
STOCKHOLM — Prosecutors in Sweden said on Friday that they would drop their rape investigation into Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London five years ago.
The announcement represents a victory for Mr. Assange, 45, an Australian, who became a persistent problem for the Obama administration after he released classified and embarrassing documents from the United States and other countries. But the prosecutors’ decision does not mean that Mr. Assange is in the clear.
“While today was an important victory and important vindication, the road is far from over,” Mr. Assange told reporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
“The war, the proper war, is just commencing,” he said of his ongoing legal battle.
[...]
The phony investigation against Assange has finally been dropped. Should have happened a long time ago. This will make it harder for people to throw around unfounded accusations of "rapist". Harder, but not impossible.