Swedish prosecutors ask to quiz Assange in London
Swedish prosecutors have asked for approval from Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to quiz him in London. He has been stuck in the Ecuadorian embassy for almost three years, to avoid extradition....

By: euronews (in English)

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Swedish prosecutors ask to quiz Assange in London - Video

Swedish prosecutors ready to question Assange in London
Swedish prosecutors have offered to question Julian Assange in London - where he is currently holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy. The whistleblower is wanted in Sweden on sex assault charges,...

By: RT

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Swedish prosecutors ready to question Assange in London - Video

Story highlights Lawyer for Assange says they view the request positively but will have to discuss response Swedish prosecutors will ask Julian Assange's lawyers if they can question him in London He is wanted for questioning over sexual abuse claims in Sweden; he denies the allegations

Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

Swedish prosecutors have previously balked at coming to Britain to question Assange.

However, a number of the crimes Julian Assange is suspected of will be subject to a statute of limitation in August 2015, according to a statement from Marianne Ny, the director of public prosecutions.

"If Assange gives his consent, the prosecutor will promptly submit a request for legal assistance to the British authorities to further continue the investigation," the statement said.

A request will also be made to the Ecuadorian authorities for permission to "perform investigative measures" at its London embassy, the statement said. Ecuador granted Assange political asylum in 2012.

Assange's defense lawyer, Per E. Samuelsson, said he called Assange on Friday morning with the news from the prosecution authority -- and that in principle they viewed the request positively.

"I think I woke him up, but he knew I was calling with news about the case since I called so early," Samuelsson said.

"He was, of course, very happy that something is finally happening but he is irritated that it has taken such a long time."

This is a step that Assange and his team have been requesting for four years, Samuelsson said.

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Julian Assange: Swedish prosecutors ask to quiz him in ...

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 ...

LONDON (AP) Julian Assange and his supporters warily welcomed a surprise U-turn Friday by Swedish prosecutors, who now say they are willing to come to London to quiz the WikiLeaks founder over alleged sex crimes.

The reversal, however, doesn't mean the anti-secrecy activist will soon be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, his home and prison for almost three years.

Since 2010, Swedish prosecutors have sought to question Assange over sex allegations made by two women. Assange fought extradition through the British courts and, when that failed, holed up inside Ecuador's small diplomatic mission. British police stand guard around the clock at the building, ready to arrest him if he steps outside.

Assange denies the allegations against him, and believes extradition to Sweden is merely a first step in efforts to remove him to the U.S., where WikiLeaks infuriated officials by publishing secret documents including 250,000 State Department cables. Former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for passing those documents to WikiLeaks and the U.S. investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing.

On Friday, Swedish prosecutors reversed their long refusal to question Assange inside his London bolt hole, citing the five-year statute of limitations on some of the allegations against him.

One of Assange's defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, called the about-face "a great victory for Julian Assange," and indicated the 43-year-old Australian would likely agree to be questioned.

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

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. The latter two allegations expire after five years, rape after 10 years.

Lead Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said the looming deadline had prompted her change of mind.

"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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Swedish Prosecutors Offer To Question Julian Assange In ...

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 Julian Assange in London over ...

Swedish prosecutors have asked to interview WikiLeaks front-man Julian Assange in London, as the Swedish statute of limitations gives them only until August to bring charges on allegations of sexual molestation. The prosecutors also want Assange to give a DNA sample.

The request was filed with Assanges lawyer by the Swedish Director of Public Prosecutions, Marianne Ny , her office said Friday.

A Swedish court ordered Assange to be detained in November 2010 on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. Since then, Swedish authorities have been trying to extradite Assange to Sweden.

Assange denies the allegations and, after exhausting his legal options to fight the extradition, took refuge in Ecuadors U.K. embassy in June 2012.

He fears that if he is forced to go to Sweden, he could eventually be extradited to the U.S. where he could be charged for publishing thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website.

The cache of U.S. cables for instance linked China to a 2009 hack of Googles computer systems. The hundreds of thousands of cables were leaked by Private First Class Bradley Manning (now Chelsea Manning), who had access to the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), a computer network used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State.

Manning was convicted for the leaks in July 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Assange, who published the cables, has been more successful at avoiding prosecution.

The Swedish prosecutors are now willing to go to London to beat the statute of limitations on some of the allegations from running out.

Ny said she would have preferred to interview Assange in Sweden, but would rather interview him in the Ecuadorean embassy than not at all.

If Assange agrees to the prosecutors proposal, the prosecutor will submit a request for legal assistance to the British authorities to continue the investigation, and send a request to to the Ecuadorian authorities to perform an investigation in the London embassy.

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Swedish prosecutor wants to interview Assange in London