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Julian Assange: Sweden drops investigation against Wikileaks founder based in Ecuador's London embassy Julian Assange: Sweden drops investigation against Wikileaks founder based in Ecuador's London embassy
(35 minutes later)
Sweden has dropped its investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, prosecutors have announced.Sweden has dropped its investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, prosecutors have announced.
The country's director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said the preliminary rape and sexual assault probe has been discontinued.The country's director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said the preliminary rape and sexual assault probe has been discontinued.
WikiLeaks said an arrest warrant issued for Mr Assange would be revoked, sparking speculation he would be leaving the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Mr Assange reacted to the news by tweeting a photo of himself smiling inside the Ecuadorian Embassy where he has been living for almost five years.
The Austrian activist sought asylum there in 2012 over fears the Swedish investigation would result in him being extradited to the US over leaked military documents and diplomatic cables. WikiLeaks said an arrest warrant issued for Mr Assange would be revoked, sparking speculation he would be leaving the London embassy.
But the Metropolitan Police swiftly confirmed it would still arrest the Australian over skipping bail when he sought asylum.
“Westminster Magistrates' Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the court on the 29 June 2012,” a statement said.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy.”
A spokesperson for WikiLeaks claimed the British government "refuses to confirm or deny" whether it has received a US extradition warrant, adding: "Focus now moves to UK."
The Austrian activist sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy while on bail in 2012, over fears the Swedish investigation would result in him being extradited to the US over leaked military documents and diplomatic cables.
The Ecuadorian government had sent Sweden a letter saying there had been a “serious failure” by the prosecutor, including a “lack of initiative” to complete inquiries.
It raised developments in the US since the election of Donald Trump as President, including a speech by CIA director Mike Pompeo describing WikiLeaks as a “hostile intelligence service”.
The letter argued that recent public declarations constituted an “obvious risk” for Mr Assange, who originally faced three sexual assault charges that he denied.
The UN had called on Swedish and British authorities to free Mr Assange from "arbitrary detention" in a report released last year, although the findings were not legally binding.
As the Swedish investigation continued in December 2010, Mr Assange was jailed in Wandsworth Prison in isolation for 10 days and then put under house arrest for 550 days under powers granted by an international arrest warrant.
Scotland Yard stood down the 24/7 police presence outside the Ecuadorian Embassy building in 2015 but pledged to make “every effort” to arrest Mr Assange if he left.
It comes after Chelsea Manning, who provided WikiLeaks with classified intelligence on Iraq and Afghanistan that shocked the world, was freed from prison.
The transgender former US intelligence analyst left Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday, months after Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence as one of his final acts as President.