Swedish prosecutors said on Friday that they would drop the investigation into a rape claim against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after almost seven years.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement that Marianne Ny “has decided to discontinue the investigation.”
Mr. Assange took refuge in the Ecuador embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about rape allegations by 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 Mr. Assange.
WikiLeaks tweeted after the Swedish announcement: “UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a U.S. extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to U.K.”
Friday’s announcement indicated that Mr. Assange is no longer under any investigation in Sweden.
The British police said before the announcement that Mr. Assange is still wanted in Britain for jumping bail. It is not clear if that may change now given the investigation is to be 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 WikiLeaks founder 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.
'Will not forgive'
Mr. Assange said on Friday he would not forgive or forget those behind a long-running Swedish rape investigation that he said had prevented him seeing his children while they grew up.
“Detained for 7 years without charge while my children grew up and my name was slandered,” he said on Twitter. “I do not forgive or forget.”
In January, Mr. Assange said he stood by an offer to go to the U.S. provided his rights were upheld and if former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was responsible for a 2010 leak of classified materials to Mr. Assange’s anti-secrecy group, were freed.
‘Operational matter’
Ms. Manning was released on Wednesday after spending seven years in a U.S. military prison for passing the documents to WikiLeaks.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday it would be “an operational matter for the police” to decide whether to arrest Mr. Assange if he left the embassy. Asked if she would support Britain extraditing Mr. Assange to the U.S., she said: “We look at extradition requests when we receive them on a case-by-case basis.”
Last month CIA Director Mike Pompeo called WikiLeaks a “hostile intelligence service”, and Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, responding to a question about Mr. Assange, said the administration was stepping up its efforts against all leaks of sensitive information.
