Assange questioning ends in London; no decision yet

Prosecutors concluded a two-day interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday as part of an inquiry to determine whether to charge him with a possible sex crime dating back six years.

Views on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have shifted. “But a good chunk of questioning has already taken place as far as I understand”, he said. He says the sex was consensual and believes the allegations are politically motivated.

Swedish prosecutors dropped a sexual assault investigation, concerning another woman, against Assange in 2015 after the five-year statute of limitations expired.

The questioning of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian Embassy over allegations of rape could last several days, according to reports. Since he took refuge, the statute of limitations has run out on some of the accusations, but prosecutors are continuing to investigate the rape allegation.

Swedish prosecutors will weigh his version of events before deciding whether to charge him with a crime.

However Ms Isgren will not be giving interviews during her stay in London.

“Sweden’s failure to progress the preliminary investigation until now has resulted in a gross breach of Mr Assange’s right to be presumed innocent and has fatally harmed his ability to meaningfully defend himself”, the statement said. “A DNA sample will also be taken, provided that Julian Assange agrees to it”, the prosecutor’s office said.

In response to the election-related releases, Ecuador restricted Assange’s Internet access. In September, WikiLeaks released a December 2015 psychosocial medical evaluation of Assange, in which a doctor whose name was redacted by WikiLeaks, wrote: “Mr Assange’s mental health is highly likely to deteriorate over time if he remains in his current situation”.

In February this year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a decision condemning Sweden and the UK for the “arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of liberty” Assange had been subject to. It isn’t known if he faces a secret grand jury indictment in the U.S.

Mr Assange is “not hiding” at the embassy, but he will not go to Sweden because he would thereby risk losing his Ecuadorean asylum status, his lawyer Jennifer Robinson told the BBC on Monday.

The US Democratic Party has been at the forefront of attacks on WikiLeaks and Assange, even claiming that he is an ally of the Russian regime of Vladimir Putin and a stooge of President-elect Donald Trump.