Sweden drops probe in Julian Assange ‘rape’ case

The alleged rape investigation involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is now jailed in Britain, has been discontinued, a Swedish prosecutor has said.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson spoke on Tuesday as she gave an update on the Swedish case.

Assange has been in custody since being removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he had initially been granted asylum.

He had been wanted in Sweden over the rape claims but is also sought by US authorities over his WikiLeaks activities.

WikiLeaks, meanwhile, has welcomed the decision by the Swedish authorities to drop the investigation.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, said, “Sweden has dropped its preliminary investigation into Mr Assange for the third time, after reopening it without any new evidence or information.

“Let us now focus on the threat Mr Assange has been warning about for years: the belligerent prosecution of the United States and the threat it poses to the First Amendment.”