Swedish Prosecutors Request Detention of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Over Rape Allegations

Copenhagen: Swedish prosecutors on Monday requested the detention of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over allegations of rape. Assange had evaded these charges by seeking diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for almost seven years.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson requested the Uppsala District Court to detain the Australian. Eva-Marie Persson was quoted by Efe news as saying, “I request the District Court to detain Assange in his absence, on probable cause suspected for rape.” Persson added that she would issue a European Arrest Warrant concerning surrender to Sweden in case the court decides to detain Assange.

Currently, Assange is serving a 50-week sentence in UK’s Belmarsh prison after he was found guilty of breaching the terms of his bail relating to allegations, including “lesser-degree rape,” lodged in Sweden. An investigation in the case was reopened following his dramatic arrest in London on April 11, 2019. The investigation was reopened at the request of Swedish lawyer Elizabeth Massi Fritz who represents one of the women who accused Assange of rape when she hosted him in Stockholm in 2010.