Assange may stay at embassy, despite charges expiring

Ecuador has agreed to open talks with Sweden to break the ongoing standoff over the interrogation of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, holed up at the Ecuadorean embassy here since 2012, over alleged sex crimes he committed in 2010.

Mr Assange previously said he agreed to be interviewed by Swedish authorities inside the embassy but he claimed in June the country’s chief prosecutor cancelled an interview appointment. Assange and his supporters have maintained that the charges are merely a pretense to see him extradited from Sweden to the U.S., where he could be charged in connection with the release of thousands of documents leaked by imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

The three allegations (two counts of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion) that are set to expire come from one of the complainants in the probe.

“The real question is whether even the final part of the case should be written off as well considering the status of the investigation, and considering the ineffective way the prosecutor has handled the case”, Olsson told Sveriges Television (SVT) in Sweden.

“They [Swedish prosecutors] have been investigating [the case] for several years now, but the prosecutor has chosen not to conduct an interview with Julian Assange in London without giving any reason for that decision”. A fourth allegation of rape does not expire until 2020, meaning he will still be arrested if he leaves the embassy.

Within a week, three of the four claims will have expired, The Times of London reports.

Jen Robinson, a member of his legal team, said the Swedish prosecutor had ample opportunity to progress the investigation. And it is a national security criminal investigation, multi-subject, long-term pre-prosecution.

“We are frustrated that the interview has not yet taken place”, Swire said.

A statement Ecuador’s embassy on Monday said: “The Embassy of Ecuador to the United Kingdom clarifies that on no occasion has any representative of the Kingdom of Sweden presented themselves at the embassy in relation to the Assange matter”.

Ecuador has granted Mr. Assange political asylum but he can’t leave the South American country’s London premises without the threat of United Kingdom police arresting him and removing him to Sweden.

“She had wanted him to stand before the court and answer the accusations but it’s five years ago and she’s not interested in going to court now”, her lawyer, Claes Borgstrom, told the BBC.