STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors offered on Friday to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London over rape allegations, in a U-turn that could provide a breakthrough in the deadlocked case.

One of Mr Assanges lawyers welcomed the prosecutors proposal, saying the interview would be a first step in clearing his client who took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden and has been there ever since.

He will accept to be questioned in London, lawyer Per Samuelsson said, adding that Mr Assange was happy about the development. We are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

Also read: Assange loses appeal against Swedish arrest warrant

Britains Foreign Office pledged its help, saying: As we have made clear previously, we stand ready to assist the Swedish prosecutor, as required.

However, WikiLeaks said the handling of the case had left a black stain on Swedens human rights record. Up to now, Swedish prosecutors have refused to go to London to question the 43-year-old Australian former hacker over the allegations.

And Mr Assange has refused to go to Sweden to be questioned over the allegations, which he has vehemently denied, saying the sexual encounters were consensual.

But the prosecutor in charge of the case, Marianne Ny, said on Friday she was dropping her opposition as some of the alleged offences would reach their statute of limitations in August.

Ms Nys office said in a statement she had always believed that interrogating Mr Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial.

This assessment remains unchanged, she said, but added now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies... and likewise take the risk the interview does not move the case forward, particularly as there are no other measures on offer without Assange being present in Sweden.

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In a U-turn, Sweden offers to question Assange in London - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

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Wikileaks: Sweden proves it stalled Assange case on false pretenses
WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson tells RT the whole Assange case leaves a huge stain on Sweden. READ MORE: RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air Subscribe to RT!

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Wikileaks #39; Julian Assange accepts Swedish prosecutors request
Julian Assange #39;s lawyer says the Wikileaks founder has accepted a request from Swedish prosecutors to be questioned in London over sexual assault charges. Assange has been holed up in the...

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks as Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Patino listens, during a news conference at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, Aug. 18, 2014. REUTERS

LONDON -- Swedish prosecutors on Friday offered to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, potentially breaking a stalemate in an almost five-year-old investigation into alleged sex crimes.

Prosecutors had previously refused to travel to London, where Assange has spent almost three years inside the Ecuadorean embassy. Lead prosecutor Marianne Ny explained the change in position by saying some of the crimes the 43-year-old Australian is accused of will reach their statute of limitations in August.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement.

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It has been one year since Julian Assange sought political asylum inside Ecuador's embassy in London. The WikiLeaks founder remains holed up ther...

"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward."

Sweden ordered Assange's arrest in August 2010. He has not been formally indicted but he faces allegations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal coercion involving two women. Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution authority, said the latter two allegations expire after five years, rape after 10 years.

Assange denies the women's claims.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the Swedish decision was "a victory for Julian," but criticized the delay.

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Sweden offers to question Assange in London over alleged sex crimes

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be questioned in London and have a DNA sample taken over longstanding sex assault and rape allegations, Swedish prosecutors said Friday.

The Australian has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Assange denies the sex claims, which date back almost five years, and fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could be further extradited to the U.S. over one of the largest information leaks in history.

Prosecutors in Stockholm had previously refused to travel to London to question him, but said Friday they are willing to compromise because some of his alleged crimes reach their statute of limitations in August.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Sweden's Director of Public Prosecutions Marianne Ny said in a statement. "This assessment remains unchanged. Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies to the investigation."

If a visit occurred, a DNA sample would be taken from Assange at the embassy, the statement said.

"We welcome and see it also as a big victory ... for Julian Assange that what we have demanded is finally going to happen," Assange's lawyer, Per Samuelson, told Reuters.

However, he warned that the process "could take time."

Assange is accused by two women of sexual misconduct and rape while on a visit to Sweden in 2010.

He denies the allegations and sought asylum from Ecuador in order to avoid a 2012 extradition order. He has been stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June 19, 2012.

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WikiLeaks' Assange Faces DNA Test at Embassy Hideaway

JUNE 28, 2012: British authorities have demanded Julian Assange report to station in order to begin his extradition process to Sweden.(AP)

ARE, Sweden Swedish prosecutors on Friday offered to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, potentially unlocking a stalemate in an almost five-year-old investigation into alleged sex crimes.

Prosecutors had previously refused to travel to London, where Assange has taken refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy. Lead prosecutor Marianne Ny explained the change in position by saying some of the crimes Assange is accused of will reach their statute of limitations in August.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement.

"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward," Ny said.

She said she had made a request to Assange's legal team on Friday to interview him in London and to have a sample of his DNA taken with a swab.

One of Assange's defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, welcomed the move and said Assange would likely accept the offer after reviewing it in detail. He said he had spoken to Assange early Friday.

"This is something we've demanded for over four years," Samuelson told The Associated Press. "Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated. So of course we welcome this."

Assange has not been formally indicted in Sweden, but he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual misconduct and rape involving two women he met during a visit to the Scandinavian country in 2010. He denies the allegations.

Assange has been in the Ecuadorean embassy since June 19, 2012.

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Swedish prosecutors offer to question Wikileaks' Assange in London over sex assault case

Swedish prosecutors on Friday offered to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, potentially breaking a stalemate in an almost five-year-old investigation into alleged sex crimes by the anti-secrecy activist.

Prosecutors had previously refused to travel to London, where Assange has spent almost three years inside the Ecuadorean embassy in a bid to avoid arrest and extradition.

Lead prosecutor Marianne Ny explained the change in position by saying some of the crimes the 43-year-old Australian is accused of will reach their statute of limitations in August.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement.

"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward."

Sweden ordered Assange's arrest in August 2010. He has not been formally indicted but he faces allegations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal coercion involving two women. Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority, said the latter two allegations expire after five years, rape after 10 years.

Assange denies the women's claims.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the Swedish decision was "a victory for Julian," but criticized the delay.

"I think it's absolutely outrageous that it took the Swedish prosecutor 4 1/2 years to come to this conclusion after maintaining that she couldn't come to London because it would be illegal to do so," he said. "Obviously that was a bogus argument."

It was unclear how soon a prosecutor could come to London, if Assange agrees to the interview.

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In about-face, Sweden offers to question Assange in London

London Swedish prosecutors on Friday offered to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, potentially breaking a stalemate in an almost five-year-old investigation into alleged sex crimes.

Prosecutors had previously refused to travel to London, where Assange has spent almost three years inside the Ecuadorean embassy. Lead prosecutor Marianne Ny explained the change in position by saying some of the crimes the 43-year-old Australian is accused of will reach their statute of limitations in August.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement.

"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward," Ny said.

She said she had made a request to Assange's legal team on Friday to interview him in London and to have a DNA sample taken with a swab. She said permission was also being sought from Ecuadorean authorities.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the Swedish decision was "a victory for Julian," but criticized the delay.

"I think it's absolutely outrageous that it took the Swedish prosecutor 4 1/2 years to come to this conclusion after maintaining that she couldn't come to London because it would be illegal to do so," he said. "Obviously that was a bogus argument."

One of Assange's defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, welcomed the move and said Assange would likely accept the offer. He said he had spoken to Assange early Friday.

"This is something we've demanded for over four years," Samuelson told The Associated Press. "Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated."

Friday's move comes after Assange appealed his detention order to Sweden's Supreme Court, which earlier this week asked Sweden's prosecutor-general to issue an opinion.

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Sweden offers to question Assange in London about alleged sex crimes

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photo: Reuters

Sweden's highest court will hear an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he seeks to quash an arrest warrant arising from rape and sexual molestation allegations.

On Tuesday the Swedish Supreme Court agreed to consider Mr Assange's appeal against the decisions of lower courts to uphold an arrest warrant issued in November 2010.

The Supreme Court has decreed that the Swedish "Attorney-General [Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson] expeditiously submit its reply to the case, especially on the issue of the conduct of investigations and the principle of proportionality".

Last week a United States court confirmed that WikiLeaks and Mr Assange are still being targeted by the US Department of Justice in a criminal investigation prompted by leaks of secret military and diplomatic documents by US army private Chelsea Manning in early 2010. US laws referenced in search warrants executed in the WikiLeaks probe relate to espionage, conspiracy, theft of US government property and computer fraud and abuse.

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Mr Assange was arrested in the United Kingdom in December 2010, to be extradited in accordance with a European arrest warrant to Sweden to be questioned about sexual assault allegations made by two Swedish women three months earlier. After a period of incarceration in Wandsworth Prison, Mr Assange was bailed and resided under house arrest at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk.

In June 2012, after a series of unsuccessful appeals in the British courts, Mr Assange moved to Ecuador's London embassy, where he was granted political asylum on the grounds that he is at risk of extradition to the United States to face espionage and conspiracy charges.

British police are on guard outside the embassy 24 hours a day, waiting to arrest Mr Assange so he can be extradited to Sweden. Mr Assange denies the allegations and his lawyers have advised that his extradition to Sweden could facilitate his extradition to the US.

In June 2014, Mr Assange's lawyers applied to the Swedish district court seeking to quash the original arrest warrant on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to progress the case by refusing to interview him in the United Kingdom and that he has been denied access to key facts forming the basis for the decision to arrest him. The application was rejected and that decision was upheld by Sweden's court of appeal in November 2014. Mr Assange then appealed to the Swedish Supreme Court which only considers cases that raise constitutional questions or where it is important to establish a precedent for guidance of lower courts.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lodges appeal in Swedish Supreme Court in bid to quash rape arrest warrant