{"id":92636,"date":"2017-05-22T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=92636"},"modified":"2017-05-19T19:16:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T18:16:27","slug":"julian-assange-claims-victory-after-sweden-drops-rape-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/05\/julian-assange-claims-victory-after-sweden-drops-rape-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Julian Assange Claims Victory after Sweden Drops Rape Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

He also vowed that WikiLeaks would continue publishing.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange makes a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in central London, Britain, on February 5, 2016.
Photo: Reuters<\/p><\/div>\n

19 May 2017 – <\/em>Swedish prosecutors dropped the rape investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday [19 May], saying the investigation had not been able to proceed because of legal obstacles.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Julian Assange’s Lawyer Asks Sweden to Drop Arrest Warrant<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Today is an important victory for me and for the U.N. human rights system,” Assange said in an address\u00a0on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.<\/p>\n

Assange, 45, has lived in the\u00a0embassy since 2012 when he took refuge to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations. He feared Sweden would hand him over to the United States to face prosecution for information leaks as thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents were published by WikiLeaks.<\/p>\n

Swedish Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny said that the investigation could be reopened if Assange came to Sweden before the statute of limitations deadline for rape allegation in 2020. “We are not making a statement about his guilt,” Ny added.<\/p>\n

Assange said being detained for seven years without charge while his childre grew up and his name was slandered is something that he won’t “forgive or forget.”<\/p>\n

The United Nations has decried the unfair treatment of Assange, decalring that he was being arbitrarily detained and that his human rights were being violated.<\/p>\n

Assange thanked the United Nations and Ecudor who\u00a0“stood by my asylum despote intense pressure” in his address.<\/p>\n

Ecuador’s government welcomed the decision by Sweden, but said it was long overdue.<\/p>\n

“Ecuador regrets that the Swedish Prosecutor delayed more than four years in carrying out this interview,” said Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Guillaume Long. “This unnecessary delay was despite the repeated insistence from the Ecuadorean government – ever since the granting of asylum in 2012 – that this interview was not only possible but that Ecuador would facilitate its carrying out in our Embassy.”<\/p>\n

“Given that the European arrest warrant no longer holds, Ecuador will now be intensifying its diplomatic efforts with the U.K. so that Julian Assange can gain safe passage in order to enjoy his asylum in Ecuador,” said Long.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=02ZoE2d8ZjQ<\/p>\n

After a 7-year stand-off with Sweden, Assange may still not be able to leave the Ecuadorean Embassy. British police said that if Assange were to leave the embassy it was still their obligation to arrest him. But the British government\u00a0has not commented on whether\u00a0the United States had made a request to extradite Assange.<\/p>\n

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pic.twitter.com\/dDvB1Vekhg<\/a><\/p>\n

— Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) May 19, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n