Sweden reopens rape probe against Julian Assange

Stockholm: Swedish prosecutors said on Monday they were reopening a 2010 rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

“I have today decided to reopen the investigation ... There is still probable cause to suspect that Mr Assange committed rape,” the deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, told reporters. As Sweden relaunches the case, it could leave Britain deciding whether to extradite him to the Scandinavian country or the United States. Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges — a step short of formal charges — against Assange after he visited the country in 2010. Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired. That left a rape allegation, and the case was closed as it couldn’t be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy and there was no prospect of bringing him to Sweden. The statute of limitations on that case expires in August 2020.

The case was opened following complaints from two Swedish women who said they were the victims of sex crimes committed by Assange. He has denied the allegations, asserting that they were politically motivated and that the sex was consensual.