Swedish prosecutor drops rape case against WikiLeaks founder Assange

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s top prosecutor said Friday she is dropping an investigation into a rape claim against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after almost seven years.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement Friday that Marianne Ny “has decided to discontinue the investigation.”

Despite Sweden’s decision, British police say that Julian Assange still faces arrest if he leaves Ecuador’s London embassy.

The Metropolitan Police force says that there is a British warrant for Assange’s arrest after he jumped bail in 2012, and it “is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy.”

But it adds that Assange is now wanted for a “much less serious offense” than the original sex crimes claims, and police “will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offense.”

Police kept up round-the-clock guard outside the embassy until last year, when the operation was scaled back.

Assange took refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about sex-crime allegations from two women. He has been there ever since, fearing that if he is arrested he might ultimately be extradited to the United States. Last month, President Donald Trump said he would support any decision by the Justice Department to charge Assange.

WikiLeaks tweeted after the Swedish announcement: “UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a US extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to UK.”

Friday’s announcement means Assange is no longer under any investigation in Sweden. British police said before the announcement that Assange is still wanted in Britain for jumping bail. It is not clear if that may change now that the investigation has been dropped. Friday was the deadline for the Swedish prosecution to send a request to Stockholm District Court in the Assange case.

The 45-year-old Australian computer hacker was wanted in Sweden for questioning over a rape allegation stemming from a 2010 visit.

“This is a total victory for Julian Assange. He is now free to leave the embassy when he wants. We have won the Assange case. He is of course happy and relieved. He has been critical that it has lasted that long,” Per E Samuelsson, his lawyer in Sweden, told Swedish Radio. Samuelsson was not immediately available for comments.

Gregory Katz and Jill Lawless in London and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this story.