ASSANGE ‘RAPE’ CASE
Julian Assange rape accuser demands Swedish prosecutors reopen sex crimes case against Wikileaks chief
ONE of Julian Assange's rape accusers has today demanded Swedish prosecutors re-open the sex assault case against him.
Sweden dropped the charges in 2017 against the Wikileaks founder who was this morning arrested in London after being dragged out of exile from the Ecuadorian embassy.
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The lawyer of one of the accusers said she hopes the Swedish preliminary investigation against Assange will resume.
Elisabeth Massi Fritz said: "My client and I have just received the news that Assange has been arrested.
“That what we have been waiting for and hoping for almost seven years now, of course, comes as a shock to my client.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that the prosecutors resume the Swedish preliminary investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape.”
In August 2010, an arrest warrant was issued for Assange for two separate allegations - one of rape and one of molestation - after he visited Sweden.
RAPE ALLEGATION
The Wikileaks journalist, who denies the allegations, entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June 2012 requesting political asylum after British courts ruled that he should be extradited to Stockholm.
The reason the case was dropped was because authorities did not believe Assange would be handed over within a reasonable time.
Chief prosecutor Marianne Ny said she wants the Australian-born hacker to be interrogated in London, after she was criticised by the Swedish Court of Appeal for not pushing the investigation forward, reports .
Following his arrest, prosecutor Ingrid Isgren said: “This is news for us too, so we have not been able to decide on the information that is now available.
“We also do not know why he is arrested. We follow the development.”
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As he was pulled out in handcuffs of his hiding place for the last seven years, Assange shouted: "The UK has no stability".
Assange hasn't left the embassy since August 2012 - costing the British taxpayer more than £10m.
He feared stepping off Ecuador's diplomatic soil would see him arrested and extradited to the US for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.
A Metropolitan Police statement said: "He has been taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible.
"The MPS had a duty to execute the warrant, on behalf of Westminster Magistrates' Court, and was invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum."
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Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: "Nearly 7yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law."
Yesterday, Fidel Narvaez, the former Consul of Ecuador to London, said: "The Ecuadorian embassy is not protecting Assange any more.
"It is doing everything possible to end the asylum."
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