Prosecutors in Sweden on Monday reopened an investigation into a rape allegation made against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, who is facing an extradition trial in a London court and is currently lodged in the high-security Belmarsh prison.
The Swedish inquiry has been revived at the request of the alleged victim’s lawyer, reports from Stockholm said. Assange, 47, denies the charges dating to 2010. He has avoided extradition to Sweden for seven years after seeking refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012.
Assange has been jailed for 50 weeks for breaching his bail conditions after he was evicted from the embassy in April. Swedish prosecutors had previously decided to drop the rape case on the ground that it was not possible to progress it while he remained inside the embassy.
Announcing reopening the rape probe, Sweden’s deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, said: “There is still probable cause to suspect that Mr Assange committed rape. The prosecutor will shortly request that Julian Assange be detained in his absence suspected on probable cause for an allegation of rape”.
“I am well aware of the fact that an extradition process is ongoing in the UK and that he could be extradited to the US. In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“I am well aware of the fact that an extradition process is ongoing in the UK and that he could be extradited to the US. In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}The extradition trial is based on a request by the United States, where he is wanted for his alleged role in the release of classified military and diplomatic material in 2010.
WikiLeaks said in a statement that reopening of the Swedish rape case would “give (Assange) a chance to clear his name. There has been considerable political pressure on Sweden to reopen their investigation, but there has always been political pressure surrounding this case”.