The video of Pelosis onstage speech Wednesday at a Center for American Progress event, in which she said President Trumps refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations was tantamount to a coverup, was subtly edited to make her voice sound garbled and warped. It was then circulated widely across Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

One version, posted by the conservative Facebook page Politics WatchDog, has been viewed more than 1.4 million times, been shared more than 32,000 times, and garnered 16,000 comments with users calling her drunk and a babbling mess.

The origin of the altered video remains unclear but its spread across social media comes amid a growing feud between congressional Democrats and Trump. In addition to links from multiple YouTube and Twitter accounts, the video has appeared in the comments sections of message boards and regional news outlets.

Analyses of the video by Washington Post journalists and outside researchers indicate that the video has been slowed to about 75 percent of its original speed. To possibly correct for how that speed change would deepen her tone, the video also appears to have been altered to modify her pitch, to more closely resemble the sound of her natural speech.

Read this article:
Julian Assange: US charges WikiLeaks founder with ...

Julian Assange has always been a lightning-rod for controversy, but the latest charges against him have journalism watchdog groups crying foul.

Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, was charged by U.S. authorities Thursday of violating the Espionage Act. Now there's a debate whether prosecutors can claim the same about journalists who publish stories on state secrets.

The Department of Justice is defending he charges against Assange. According to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers, "Julian Assange is no journalist" and "the Department takes seriously the role of journalists and our democracy and we support it."

Journalism groups don't seem to agree, however. Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, released a statement, arguing the charges could also be applied to journalists.

"Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists seeking to publish such information in the public interest, irrespective of the Justice Departments assertion that Assange is not a journalist," Brown said in a statement.

Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of non-profit PEN America, which describes itself as a group that defends and protects free expression, called the indictment "unprecedented" and has "grave implications for a free press."

"Whether Assange is a journalist or WikiLeaks qualifies as a press outlet is immaterial to the counts set out here," Nossel said in a statement.

"The indictment encompasses a series of activities--including encouraging sources verbally and in writing to leak information and receiving and publishing such information--that media outlets routinely undertake as part of their role to hold government to account," she said.

Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union said the charges were "extraordinary."

"For the first time in the history of our country, the government has brought criminal charges against a publisher for the publication of truthful information," Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said in a statement.

"This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism and a direct assault on the First Amendment," Wizner said. "It establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets. And it is equally dangerous for U.S. journalists who uncover the secrets of other nations. If the US can prosecute a foreign publisher for violating our secrecy laws, theres nothing preventing China, or Russia, from doing the same."

Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked classified information and also faces charges under the Espionage Act, weighed in on Twitter, suggesting the charges against Assange were a declaration of war.

"The Department of Justice just declared warnot on WikiLeaks, but on journalism itself. This is no longer about Julian Assange: This case will decide the future of media," Snowden said in a tweet.

Link:
New charges against Julian Assange prompt outcry from ...

A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 18 felony charges for his alleged involvement in the 2010 leak of classified documents by Chelsea Manning, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The indictmentincludes 17 new counts of violations of the Espionage Act, in addition to one charge that had been unsealed after Assange was arrested in London in April. Each count carries a maximum sentence of between five and 10 years if convicted, although federal sentences are typically much shorter.

"The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense," the department said in a statement.

The department said Assange "engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning's transmission of classified records to Assange" and "actively encouraged" Manning to hack into a military computer network. In 2010, WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of State Department cables, documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other sensitive material that Manning had provided.

In a call with reporters, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia clarified the nature of the charges.

"Assange is charged for his alleged complicity in illegal acts to obtain or receive voluminous databases of classified information and for agreeing and attempting to obtain classified information through computer hacking," Terwilliger said. "The United States has not charged Assange for passively obtaining or receiving classified information."

He said the charges focus on the publication of "a narrow set of classified documents in which Assange also allegedly published the unredacted names of innocent people who risked their safety and freedom to provide information to the United States and its allies."

"To be clear again, Assange is not charged simply because he is a publisher," Terwilliger said.

The use of the Espionage Act to prosecute Assange signifies a dramatic escalation in the government's pursuit of him. The WikiLeaks founder has maintained he acted as a journalist when publishing the documents and is entitled to protections under the First Amendment. WikiLeaks called the indictment "madness" in a tweet on Thursday, saying it signified "the end of national security journalism and the first amendment."

John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, told reporters the department "takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy," but does not consider Assange a journalist.

"Julian Assange is no journalist. This made plain by the totality of his conduct as alleged in the indictment i.e., his conspiring with and assisting a security clearance holder to acquire classified information, and his publishing the names of human sources," Demers said. "Indeed, no responsible actor journalist or otherwise would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential human sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers."

First Amendment groups immediately denounced the indictment, calling it a threat to journalists' ability to publish classified information without fear of prosecution.

Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union said prosecuting Assange under the Espionage Act is "a direct assault on the First Amendment," saying the move "establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets."

"Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists seeking to publish such information in the public interest, irrespective of the Justice Department's assertion that Assange is not a journalist," said Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Manning was arrested in 2010 and convicted of espionage in 2013. She had been behind bars for seven years before President Obama commuted her sentence shortly before he left office in 2010.

In March, Manning was sent to jail by a federal judge in Virginia for refusing to comply with a subpoena by a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. She was briefly released when the grand jury's term expired, but ordered back to jaillast week when she refused to comply with a new subpoena. It's unclear whether either grand jury was involved in returning Thursday's indictment.

Assange was until recently holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been granted asylum after jumping bail in 2012. He was arrested in April and ordered to serve a50-week prison term in the U.K.Federal prosecutors in the U.S. unsealed an indictment of one conspiracy charge soon after, and Assange now faces possible extradition to the U.S.

Meanwhile, Swedish prosecutors have said they are reopening a rape case against Assange. They said they will seek his extradition after he has served his sentence in the U.K.

Clare Hymes and Emily Tillett contributed reporting.

Link:
Julian Assange indictment: Julian Assange hit with 18 ...

The Swedish prosecutor leading an investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange has filed a request with a local court for him to be detained in absentia.

If granted, the court order would be the first step in a process to have the WikiLeaks founder extradited from the UK, where he is serving a 50-week sentence for skipping bail.

Sweden reopened the rape investigation last week. It was begun in 2010 but dropped in 2017 after Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Assange, who denies the accusation, was arrested in London last month after spending seven years inside the embassy.

I request the district court to detain Assange in his absence, on probable cause suspected for rape, the deputy chief prosecutor, Eva-Marie Persson, said in a statement on Monday.

She said she would issue a European arrest warrant for Assange to be surrendered to Sweden if the court decided to detain him.

Swedens decision to reopen the rape investigation casts doubt on where Assange may eventually end up, with US authorities already seeking his extradition over conspiracy charges relating to one of the biggest leaks of classified information.

A lawyer representing Assange in Sweden said he would tell the district court it could not investigate the prosecutors request until he had conferred with his client and learned whether or not he wished to oppose a detention order.

Since he is in prison in England, it has so far not been possible even to speak to him by telephone, Per Samuelson told Reuters.

WikiLeaks releases about 470,000 classified military documents concerning American diplomacy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It later releases a further tranche of more than 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables.

A Swedish prosecutor issues a European arrest warrant for Assange over sexual assault allegations involving two Swedish women. Assange denies the claims.

A British judge rules that Assange can be extradited to Sweden. Assange fears Sweden will hand him over to US authorities who could prosecute him.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention says Assange has been 'arbitrarily detained' and should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden. Britain and Sweden rebuff the non-binding ruling.

Assangeis questionedin a two-day interview over the allegations at the Ecuadorian embassy by Swedish authorities.

Nigel Farage is spotted visiting the Ecuadorian embassy.

Britain refuses Ecuador's request to accord Assange diplomatic status, which would allow him to leave the embassy without being arrested.

Police arrest Assange at the embassy after his asylum was withdrawn. Scotland Yard confirmed that Assange was arrested on behalf of the US after receiving a request for his extradition. Assange has been charged by the US with 'a federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer.'

Assange, an Australian national, took refuge in the embassy after fighting unsuccessfully through the British courts to avoid extradition to Sweden.

The British courts will have to rule on the Swedish and US extradition requests. Sajid Javid, the UK home secretary, will have the final say on which takes precedence.

Persson said: The outcome of this process is impossible to predict. Citing information from UK authorities, she said Assange would serve 25 weeks of his UK sentence before he could be released.

A British judge has given the US government a deadline of 12 June to outline its case against Assange.

Continue reading here:
Julian Assange: Sweden files request for arrest over rape ...

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

May 13, 2019, 9:19 AM UTC/ UpdatedMay 13, 2019, 12:53 PM UTC

By Patrick Smith

A rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be reopened, Swedish authorities announced Monday.

Eva-Marie Persson, the country's deputy director of public prosecutions, said that in her view "there is still probable cause to accuse Mr. Assange of rape."

The Australian national is currently in jail in the United Kingdom, where he is serving a 12-month sentence for skipping bail in 2012, when he was fighting extradition to Sweden in connection with the same case.

Persson said Sweden will issue a European arrest warrant and request that Assange be brought to Stockholm for trial after he has served his British prison sentence.

The announcement leaves Britain facing a decision on whether to extradite him to the Scandinavian country or the United States.

Persson said that her team would also seek to interview Assange. "It is my assessment that a new questioning of Assange is required," she added.

Assange was arrested by police and carried out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he sheltered for almost seven years, on April 11.

The case was reopened after Elisabeth Massi Fritz, a lawyer for the woman who accuses Assange of rape, said her client still wanted to seek a conviction.

Speaking at a press conference later Monday, Fritz said her client was "very grateful, and also very hopeful that shell be able to get redress."

"She has previously lost faith in Swedish judicial system. Now she has regained faith," she added.

The U.S. also is seeking the extradition of Assange, 47, so he can face charges relating to the release of hundreds of thousands of classified military documents provided by former Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning.

That means a complex legal fight is certain to take place over his future, potentially involving a lengthy appeals process.

"When deciding which has precedence, a Swedish or U.S. extradition request, this decision will be left entirely to the British authorities," Persson said.

However, the clock is ticking: The statute of limitations on the rape charge expires in August 2020 and Persson confirmed that the investigation would end if there was no conviction by this point.

The case was triggered following complaints from two Swedish women who said they were the victims of sex crimes committed by Assange. He has denied the allegations, asserting that they were politically motivated and that the sex was consensual.

Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges a step short of formal charges against Assange after he visited the country in 2010.

Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired. That left a rape allegation, and the case was closed as it couldn't be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy and there was no prospect of bringing him to Sweden.

If convicted, Assange faces a maximum of four years in prison in Sweden.

Assange's Swedish lawyer Per E. Samuelson told Swedish broadcaster SVT that he was "very surprised" by the decision to reopen the case and maintained that his client is innocent.

"I think it is wrong to put this burden on him now when he is in prison in the U.K.," he added.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, said in a statement: "Assange was always willing to answer any questions from the Swedish authorities ... This investigation has been dropped before and its reopening will give Julian a chance to clear his name."

Assange, who describes himself as a journalist, took refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Ecuador revoked his political asylum last month, accusing him of everything from meddling in the nation's foreign affairs to poor hygiene.

CORRECTION: (May 13, 2019, 10:02 ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of Assange's Swedish lawyer. He is Per E. Samuelson, not Samuelsen.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter from NBC News Digital.

Associated Press contributed.

Read the original here:
Julian Assange rape case will be reopened by Sweden ...

Swedens prosecution authority has reopened a preliminary investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on an allegation of rape dating back to 2010.

It said todayit will issue a European Arrest Warrant for Assange, and submit an application for a detention order to Uppsala District Court as the suspected crime took place in Enkping municipality.

An earlier attempt by the Swedish prosecution authority to investigate the alleged sex crime was dropped after Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, UK, in 2012.

A second sex crime allegation against Assange involving a separate Swedish woman cannot be reopened as the legal time-limit on pursuing a case has been exceeded.

The Wikileaks founder was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London last month, after it withdrew diplomatic asylum. He was then quickly found guilty of breaching his 2012 bail conditions. A judge at Southwark Crown Court sentenced him to 50 weeks earlier this month. He is now serving that sentence in the UKs Belmarsh prison.

Swedens deputy director of public prosecution, Eva-Marie Persson, said today that any conflict between the European Arrest Warrant and an existing US extradition request for Assange will be decided by UK authorities.

It would be up to UK courts and potentially the home secretary, Sajid Javid to make a final decision where to send Assange if there are conflicting extradition requests.

Once in UK police custody last month the Wikileaks founder was also almost immediately rearrested on behalf of the U.S. which is seeking his extradition on a charge of conspiracy to hack into a classified computer relating to the leaking of military secrets to Wikileaks by whistleblower, Chelsea Manning.

I am well aware of the fact that an extradition process is ongoing in the UK and that he could be extradited to the US. In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict. However, in my view the Swedish case can proceed concurrently with the proceedings in the UK, said Persson in a statement regarding potential extradition conflict.

In wider comments regarding reopening the case she said simply that circumstances have changed.

On account of Julian Assange leaving the Ecuadorian embassy, the circumstances in this case have changed. I take the view that there exists the possibility to take the case forward.

She also noted that UK authorities have told her office Assange must serve 25 weeks of his sentence before he can be released.

Reopening the investigation against Assange means a number of investigative measures will take place, she added, suggesting her office could seek to question Assange while he is detained in UK prison while noting he would have to agree to co-operate with any interview.

In my opinion a new interview with the suspect is required. It may be necessary, with the support of a European Investigation Order, to request an interview with [Assange] be held in the UK. Such an interview, however, requires [hi]s consent, she said.

Wikileaks editor-in-chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson, has responded to Sweden reopening the rape allegation investigation with a statement in which he claims the country is doing so under intense political pressure and that the case has been mishandled throughout.

He also denies Assange ever sought to evade the investigation, despite fleeing to and remaining within the Ecuadorian Embassy for seven years, and suggests that a fresh investigation will give Julian a chance to clear his name.

In a statement in UK court ahead of his sentencing for breaching bail conditions Assange apologized unreservedly to those who consider that I have disrespected them by the way I have pursued my case, adding that he regretted his decision to flee.

Assange was always willing to answer any questions from the Swedish authorities and repeatedly offered to do so, over six years. The widespread media assertion that Assange evaded Swedish questioning is false, Hrafnsson writes now, leaving little wiggle room should Assange decline to be interviewed by Swedish prosecutors while behind bars in the UK.

Last month a cross-party coalition of 70 UK MPs wrote to the home secretary calling for him to champion action to ensure Assange is extradited to Sweden should prosecutors request it, as they now have.

Their letter called for Javid to stand with the victims of sexual violence and seek to ensure the case against Mr Assange can now be properly investigated, to ensure due process is followed for the complainant.

Parliamentarians also pointed out that the legal expiry date in this case of alleged rape is August 2020, meaning theres only a short window to take a case against Assange to court arguing that the Swedish prosecutors should therefore be given priority in any extradition conflict with the US.

Assange is challenging the US extradition request appearing at a court hearing May 2, via videolink, to say he did not consent to being sent to the US,per the Guardian, while the court heard that the extradition process would take many months.

See the original post:
Sweden reopens rape case against Julian Assange TechCrunch

The government of Ecuador has taken one more step in its offensive against cyberactivist Julian Assange. The Ecuadorian attorney general has greenlighted an operation to search one of the rooms that the WikiLeaks founder used during his prolonged stay at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and agreed to turn over to US authorities any documents, cellphones, digital files, computers, memory drives, CDs and any other devices that may turn up during the search, according to an official notice that EL PAS has seen.

The US government wants Assange to be extradited from the United Kingdom so he can be tried for the release of classified military material in 2010. He is being charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in the US, and faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of leaking 450,000 internal documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to the media.

The systematic violation of Assanges rights is going beyond the limits of whats conceivable

Baltasar Garzn, Assanges lawyer

The search of Assanges sealed-off room will take place on May 20 as part of a petition for judicial assistance issued by the US Department of Justice to the government of Ecuador. The request says the search will take place at 9am London time, under the oversight of police chief Diego Lpez and second sergeant Milton Jaque, a computer forensic expert. The decision to confiscate Assanges belongings has been communicated to his lawyer in Ecuador, Carlos Poveda.

The 47-year-old activist was arrested on April 11 at the embassy in London and turned over to British authorities after Ecuador withdrew its asylum. Assange was granted political asylum in June 2012, by the leftist government of Rafael Correa after all his legal efforts to fight extradition to Sweden had failed. He was wanted in that country on two sexual assault charges.

But Correas successor, Lenn Moreno, considered Assange an inherited problem and a stone in the shoe. The new administration in Ecuador improved its relations with the US, and Moreno introduced tougher visiting rules and living conditions for Assange at the diplomatic mission in London. On April 11 Ecuador revoked its protection, allowing British authorities to arrest the activist, and now the Moreno administration is agreeing to turn over his personal computing devices and files to the US government.

Baltasar Garzn, a former crusading judge from Spain who is now Assanges lawyer, has described this latest decision as an absolute violation of the institution of asylum by Ecuador.

It is incomprehensible that the country that afforded him protection is now taking advantage of its privileged position to turn over his belongings to the country that is persecuting him. These belongings will be seized without a court warrant, without protecting the rights of political refugees, without respecting the chain of custody, added Garzn. And this is made worse by the system of illicit recordings that went on at the embassy, and over which a complaint has already been filed. The systematic violation of Assanges rights is going beyond conceivable limits.

The judicial cooperation between the current government of Ecuador and the US began months ago. The Ecuadorian justice system allowed US authorities to take statements from diplomatic personnel at the London embassy, and Assanges lawyers are not ruling out the possibility that recordings, audio files and documents taken from the activist and one of his lawyers during an alleged spy operation may have ended up in the hands of the United States government.

This is confidential material that will allow the US to come up with new charges to request his extradition

Aitor Martnez, lawyer

Meanwhile, Assange has also filed a complaint with Spains High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, against a Spanish journalist and four computer programmers who attempted to sell him hundreds of videos and documents depicting private moments of his last few years at the embassy. This group was asking for 3 million in exchange for not releasing this material to the media. The United Nations special rapporteur on privacy is also analyzing this alleged case of spying.

Aitor Martnez, one of the lawyers in the legal team defending the Australian activist, says that Ecuadors recent initiatives are a manifest and radical violation of the right to a defense, since those documents and devices contain all of [Assanges] communications with his lawyers and his legal documents. This is confidential material that will allow the US to come up with new charges to request his extradition.

The WikiLeaks founder has formally told a London court that he does not wish to surrender to extradition to the US. Days before that, another British court sentenced him to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012, at the time when he was facing extradition to Sweden on rape and sexual assault charges.

English version by Susana Urra.

Excerpt from:
Ecuador will give Julian Assanges embassy computers and ...

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Swedish prosecutors have reopened an investigation into a rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in 2010.

The inquiry has been revived at the request of the alleged victim's lawyer.

Assange, who denies the accusation, has avoided extradition to Sweden for seven years after seeking refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012.

The 47-year-old was evicted last month and sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions.

He is currently being held at Belmarsh prison in London.

Swedish prosecutors originally decided to drop the rape investigation two years ago, saying they felt unable to take the case forward while Assange remained holed up inside the embassy.

But on Monday, Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, announced the case would be reopened because there was still "probable cause to suspect" that Assange had committed the alleged rape.

"Now that he has left Ecuador's embassy, the conditions in the case have changed and... the conditions are in place once again to pursue the case," she said at a news conference, adding that a European Arrest Warrant would now be issued.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

His removal from the embassy, and the subsequent decision to reopen the inquiry, is likely to raise the question of which extradition request should take precedence: that of Sweden or the US.

The US is seeking Assange's extradition from the UK over his alleged role in the release of classified military and diplomatic material by Wikileaks in 2010.

Australian-born Assange faces a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in the US. He is accused of participating in one of the largest ever leaks of government secrets, which could result in a prison term of up to five years.

Sweden's original extradition request was made under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) arrangements. However, it was withdrawn and so the extradition request from the US now ranks first in line. In order to displace it, Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions said a fresh EAW request would now be issued.

If that does happen the decision as to which of the two requests take precedence will be made by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid. He would make his decision primarily on the basis of which alleged offence was considered to be more serious.

Rape is likely to be considered more serious than conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. That would mean ordering Assange's extradition to Sweden.

Assange challenged the original Swedish request through the UK courts and could bring fresh challenges in response to a new request. These would most likely be based on human rights grounds and in particular that it would be unjust or oppressive in light of his health to extradite him.

Wikileaks said the reopening of the rape case would give Assange "a chance to clear his name".

"There has been considerable political pressure on Sweden to reopen their investigation, but there has always been political pressure surrounding this case," its editor-in-chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson, said in a statement.

A lawyer for Assange told Swedish broadcaster SVT that the decision was "embarrassing for Sweden", adding that his client wanted to resolve the case but feared being extradited to the US.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

At a separate news conference, the alleged victim's lawyer, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, said the decision to reopen the case had been "very gratifying" and that she expected this would result in a criminal charge.

Nick Vamos, former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, told Reuters news agency that the UK proceedings should not take more than 18 months.

Considering Assange's potential objections to extradition, Mr Vamos said he did not think courts would accept the US case was politically motivated.

Assange was accused of rape by a woman and sexual assault by another one following a Wikileaks conference in Stockholm in 2010. He has always denied the allegations, saying the sex was consensual.

He also faced investigations for molestation and unlawful coercion, but these cases were dropped in 2015 because time had run out.

Prosecutors have decided to reopen the rape case before the 10-year statute of limitations expires in August 2020. The sexual assault investigation was dropped after the five-year statute of limitations expired.

More:
Julian Assange: Sweden reopens rape investigation - bbc.com

Swedish prosecutors are to reopen an investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange.

The deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, announced the decision at a press conference on Monday, saying: I have today taken the decision to reopen the preliminary investigation.

She said the circumstances allowed for an extradition to Sweden from Britain, and an interview with Assange should be conducted.

After reviewing the preliminary investigation carried out so far, I find that there still exist grounds for Julian Assange to be suspected on probable cause of the charge of rape, Persson said. It is my assessment that a new questioning of Assange is required.

With Assange now detained by the UK, the prerequisites for continuing and completing the investigation are now considered to exist, she said.

Prosecutors dropped the investigation in 2017 because they were unable to proceed while the WikiLeaks founder remained in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They said at the time that the investigation could be reopened if the situation changed. Assange has always denied the allegation.

Assange, 47, was removed from the embassy last month after the Ecuadorian government abruptly withdrew his asylum. Having spent seven years in the building, he was arrested for breach of bail.

A lawyer for one of the women involved in the Swedish allegations subsequently asked for the investigation to be resumed. Assange had also faced an investigation over a second allegation, but this was dropped in 2015 because time had run out. He has denied both allegations.

Immediately after his arrest in April, US authorities made a request for Assanges extradition in a case relating to WikiLeaks release of sensitive military and diplomatic documents. He faces allegations in the US that he conspired with a former intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning, to download classified databases. The charge against him carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Assange is being held in Belmarsh high-security prison in south London after being sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for a bail violation. He appeared by video link at Westminster magistrates court on 2 May to say he did not consent to being extradited to the US. The court heard that the extradition process would take many months and the case was adjourned until 30 May.

Persson said the British authorities would decide whether the Swedish or US extradition request had priority.

The Swedish allegations date back to 2010. Assange unsuccessfully fought in the British courts to have the Swedish extradition order and preliminary investigation dropped. His lawyers said he feared that if he went to Sweden, authorities could have handed him over to the US to face prosecution over the WikiLeaks case.

The lawyer for the woman who had asked for the investigation to be reopened welcomed the decision saying: Today we got great news. It signalled that no-one stands above the law, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, told a new conference.

My client feels great gratitude and she is very hopeful about getting restitution and we both hope that justice will win, she added.

She said Swedish prosecutors would be forced to take steps quickly to ensure that we have time to get a potential criminal charge in this case.

WikiLeaks said the reopening of the Swedish investigation would give Assange a chance to clear his name.

Since Julian Assange was arrested on 11 April 2019 there has been considerable political pressure on Sweden to reopen their investigation, but there has always been political pressure surrounding this case, Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, said in a statement. Its reopening will give Julian a chance to clear his name.

Hrafnsson criticised the Swedish handling of the case. He said: This case has been mishandled throughout. After the Swedish prosecutor refused to question Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy for years, it was only when forced by Swedish courts that she travelled to London to finally question Assange.

Then Sweden wanted to drop its arrest warrant for Assange as early as 2013. It was the British government that insisted that the case against him continue. Since the investigation was closed in 2017, we have received reports of the destruction of records and correspondence on behalf of UK and Swedish authorities, surely an impediment to a thorough investigation.

Assange was always willing to answer any questions from the Swedish authorities and repeatedly offered to do so, over six years. The widespread media assertion that Assange evaded Swedish questioning is false. This investigation has been dropped before and its reopening will give Julian a chance to clear his name.

Assanges Swedish lawyer, Per Samuelson, told the Swedish broadcaster SVT that he was very surprised by the decision to reopen the case, saying it was embarrassing for Sweden.

Nick Vamos, a former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, told Reuters news agency that UK extradition proceedings should not take more than 18 months.

See the rest here:
Sweden reopens rape case against Julian Assange

Sweden renewed its extradition request for Julian Assange as it reopened a rape case against him. The U.S. also wants the WikiLeaks founder extradited. USA TODAY

Prosecutors in Sweden reopened a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a month after he was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and after a U.S.extradition requestover computer hacking charges.

The decision complicates U.S. efforts to try Assange for leaking classified documents.

A sexual assault investigation into Assange was dropped two years ago because prosecutors were not able to continue their case while he was holed up in the embassy. It was reopened Monday at the request of one of the alleged victims.

The incident allegedly took place 10 years ago. Assange maintains he is innocent.

As part of the probe, prosecutorsrenewed an extradition request for Assange, raising a competing claim that could frustrate attempts to see him stand trial in the U.S.Itis not clear which extradition request will take priority, saidEva-Marie Persson, Swedens deputy director of public prosecutions, during anews conference inStockholm.

"The outcome of this process is impossible to predict," she said.

Anand Doobay, a London-based lawyer who specializes in extradition law, saidthedecision over what happens to Assange willbe decided in court and it could take months if not years and may ultimately reside with Britain's secretary of state. The statute of limitations on the rape investigation in Sweden runs out in August 2020.

'Not for doing journalism: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange refuses to surrender

Want news from USA TODAY on WhatsApp?Click this link on your mobile device to get started

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a hero or criminal, depending on who you ask.We explain. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

One of the factors that would beconsidered is if the U.S.'s request is politically motivated and whether Assange wouldface the death penalty or be charged with additional crimes related to hispublication of U.S. military and diplomatic secrets.

The stolen material, according to the U.S. Justice Department,includes90,000 war reports related to Afghanistan, 400,000 from the Iraq War, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessments and 250,000 State Department cables.

Assange believesit was in the public interest to publish them because they reveal the behavior of the U.S. government and how it operates in foreign military adventures.

The U.S. alleges that Assange wasassisted by Chelsea Manning, then a soldier in the U.S. Army, in cracking a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers.

Manning served nearly seven years of a 35-year sentence for theft and espionage for helping to deliver classified documents to WikiLeaks. Manning's sentence was later commuted by former President Barack Obama and she was released in 2017.Manning recently spent another 62 days in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury in connection with the Assange case. Manning could return to jail this week.

Refusesto testify: Chelsea Manning released from jail, expected in court next week

Assange faces up to five years in a U.S. prison if convicted of conspiracy charges.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks to reporters on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, on May 19 May 2017.(Photo: EPA-EFE)

Assange was arrested last month inside the Ecuador'sEmbassy after the South American country revoked his political asylum. He sought asylum in the embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations. At the time, Assange's legal team believed that if he were extradited to Sweden he would subsequently be extradited to the U.S. Acase of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired.

The Australian national, 47, has already started serving a 50-week sentence in a British prison for skipping bail and seeking refuge in Ecuador's Embassy.

"There are significant legal obstacles for the U.S. case," said Daniela Nadj, a professor of law at Queen Mary, University of London, adding that "many questions need to be answered." Among them: If Sweden decides to renew its extradition claim whether a rape allegation should take precedence over a hacking one.

State secrets: Six big leaks from Julian Assange's WikiLeaks over the years

The U.S. extradition hearing began in a London court on May 2.

The next court date related to that case is on May 30.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, said in a statement that the Swedish decision to reopen a rape case against Assange "will give Julian a chance to clear his name."Hrafnsson said that Persson, the Swedish prosecutor,had been under "intense political pressure"to reopen the case. He also said case has been "mishandled."

Elisabeth MassiFritz, a lawyer for the woman accusing Assange of rape, who has notbeen publicly identified, said Monday in a press conference that her client has "demonstrated strength" in deciding to pursue her case after so many years and she hopes that justice will be served before the statute of limitations expires.

Fritz said the decision by Swedish authorities "signals that no one stands above the law"and that "the legal system in Sweden doesnt givespecial treatment to anyone."

She said her client "feels great gratitude."

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Like what youre reading?:Download the USA TODAY app for more

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/05/13/wikileaks-julian-assange-swedish-prosecutors-resume-rape-probe-extradition-us-hacking-charge/1186403001/

Read more:
WikiLeak's Julian Assange: Swedish prosecutors resume rape probe