Warrant against WikiLeaks founder withdrawn

August 21, 2010 11:14 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 09:28 pm IST - Stockholm

This Aug. 14, 2010 photo shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in Stockholm, Sweden. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is suspected of rape in Sweden, where authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, officials said Saturday Aug. 21, 2010. The 39-year-old Australian denied the allegations on WikiLeaks' Twitter page, saying they "are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing." Assange, who has sought Swedish legal protection for the whistle-blower website, is suspected of molestation and rape in two separate cases, said Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority.  (AP Photo/Scanpix/Bertil Ericson, file) **  SWEDEN OUT  **

This Aug. 14, 2010 photo shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in Stockholm, Sweden. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is suspected of rape in Sweden, where authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, officials said Saturday Aug. 21, 2010. The 39-year-old Australian denied the allegations on WikiLeaks' Twitter page, saying they "are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing." Assange, who has sought Swedish legal protection for the whistle-blower website, is suspected of molestation and rape in two separate cases, said Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Bertil Ericson, file) ** SWEDEN OUT **

Judicial authorities in Sweden said on Saturday they have withdrawn an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over allegations of rape.

The warrant was issued on Friday evening after two women went to police, following a visit by the 39-year-old Australian information activist to Sweden a week ago.

"As far as I am concerned there are no longer any grounds to suspect that he committed rape," judicial affairs spokeswoman Eva Finne said.

Wikileaks shot to prominence in July, after the internet site, which campaigns for freedom of information, published thousands of classified documents relating to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.

Mr. Assange rejected the accusations by e-mail and said he would contact police.

A spokeswoman for prosecutors said earlier that the two women had not laid formal charges against Mr. Assange, but that given the severity of the accusations and the danger of suppression of evidence, the arrest warrant had been issued.

Wikileaks said in its official blog that it had been made aware of the rape allegations.

"We are deeply concerned about the seriousness of these allegations. We the people behind Wikileaks think highly of Julian and and he has our full support," it said.

Mr. Assange had whilst in Stockholm agreed cooperation with the Swedish Pirate Party, which will make internet server capacity available to the website free of charge.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.