Swedish proscecutors drop Julian Assange rape investigation

Record ID: 876487

  • Title: Swedish proscecutors drop Julian Assange rape investigation
  • Date: 19th May 2017
  • Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (MAY 19, 2017) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Swedish) CHIEF PROSECUTOR, MARIANNE NY, SAYING: "The preliminary investigation has therefore been closed." (TRANSLATOR TRANSLATING INTO ENGLISH) "If Julian Assange would return to Sweden before the crime's statute of limitation has run out in August 2020, the preliminary investigation can be resumed." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Swedish) CHIEF PROSECUTOR, MARIANNE NY, SAYING: "It is correct that the decision to close the preliminary investigation was not because we could not do a complete evaluation and a final evaluation of the evidence in the case, but forced to close because it is not possible to carry on the investigation further from this point." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS PROSECUTOR, INGRID ISGREN, BEING INTERVIEWED TRANSLATOR TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Swedish) PROSECUTOR, INGRID ISGREN, SAYING: "What has happened today is that Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has announced that she is closing the preliminary investigation against Julian Assange, and that she is cancelling the arrest and withdrawing the European arrest warrant." JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 2nd June 2017 12:50
  • Keywords: rape Julian Assange WikiLeaks London embassy Ecuador prosecutors Sweden
  • Location: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
  • City: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016HI7K93
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Swedish prosecutors said on Friday (May 19) they had dropped an investigation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over a rape allegation.
    However British police said Assange would still be arrested if he left the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he has been holed up.
    Assange, 45, took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over the rape allegation, which he denies.
    He feared Sweden would hand him over to the United States to face prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents in one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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