Yahoo – AFP,
Hugues Honore, 13 Aug 2015
 |
WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange has always denied the sexual assault
allegations (AFP/John
Stillwell)
|
Swedish
prosecutors said on Thursday they had dropped a sexual assault probe against
Julian Assange because the time limit on the case had expired.
Two of the
four allegations against the WikiLeaks founder -- who has been holed up at
Ecuador's London embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition -- have reached their
statute of limitations after five years.
"Now
that the statue of limitations has expired on certain offences, I am obliged to
drop part of the investigation," prosecutor Marianne Ny said.
 |
WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange has
been holed up inside Ecuador's London
embassy since
2012
|
The
accusations dropped involve one count of sexual assault and another of unlawful
coercion. A separate allegation of sexual molestation will run out on August
18.
The
Australian can still however be prosecuted for rape, which carries a 10-year
statute of limitations and expires in 2020.
Assange has
always denied the allegations brought by two Swedish women, and insists the
sexual encounters were consensual.
Under Swedish
law, if a suspect is not questioned before the deadline expires, they can no
longer be tried for the alleged crimes.
Despite
repeated attempts, prosecutors have been unable to gain access to Ecuador's
embassy.
They
initially insisted Assange return to Sweden for interrogation -- a condition he
rejected on fears Stockholm could deliver him to US authorities, who may try
him for leaking nearly 750,000 classified military and diplomatic documents in
2010.
In a U-turn
in March, prosecutors agreed to Assange's compromise offer to question him
inside the London mission but say they have yet to see their request approved
by Ecuador because of procedural issues -- leading critics to suspect Quito of
playing the clock.
 |
Swedish
chief prosecutor Marianne Ny is heading the investigation
into Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange
|
'Weight
lifted'
Attorneys
for Assange however say suspicions that Ecuador is using delaying tactics are
unfounded.
"The
(Swedish) request came in late and is being processed by Ecuador, which will
certainly approve it after following its own procedures," Assange's
Swedish lawyer Per Samuelsson told AFP earlier this month.
Claes
Borgstrom, a lawyer for one of the two women accusing Assange of having
assaulted them in 2010, said his client was trying to come to terms with the
likelihood that the case will never be tried.
"She
has always been ready to stand by her accusations and wanted to bring the case
to court. But at the same time a weight has been lifted. This has been dragging
on for five years and she wants to go back to her normal life," he told
the daily Dagens Nyheter earlier this week.
Assange has
compared living inside the embassy -- which has no garden but is in the plush
Knightsbridge district, near Harrods department store -- to life on a space
station.
His 15 feet
by 13 feet (4.5 by 4 metre) room is divided into an office and a living area.
He has a treadmill, shower, microwave and sun lamp and spends most of his day
at his computer.
He is
subject to a European arrest warrant and Britain has vowed to detain him if he
sets foot outside the embassy, which is under constant police surveillance.
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