By Eric King-

Prosecutors in Sweden have dropped their investigation into Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder accused of rape.

Assange, who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London five years ago, gave a salute of relief and celebration and the news today.

The 45 year old Australian sought refuge in the Equadorean Embassy in London after releasing classified and embarrassing documents from the United States and other countries. A relieved Assange told reporters:

“While today was an important victory and important vidication, the road is far from over,” Mr. Assange told reporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

“The war, the proper war, is just commencing,” he said, in relation to his legal battle.

Assange still faces a warrant for failing to appear in court, and the Metropolitan Police in London said on Friday that they would arrest Mr. Assange, who has maintained his innocence, if he were to try to leave the embassy.
Marianne Ny, the chief prosecutor in Sweden, clarified that the announcement of dropped charges does not mean Assange has been made innocent. “I can conclude, based on the evidence, that probable cause for this crime still exists,” she said at a news conference on Friday, which was a court-ordered deadline for prosecutors to respond on the case.

Ms. Ny said confirmed that progression with the case would require Mr. Assange to be served notice of the charges against him, and for him to be present in a Swedish court, both of which were impossible.

The impossibility of getting Assange in court compelled prosecutors to abandon the investigation after all other avenues had been exhausted. “My assessment is that the transfer cannot be executed in the foreseeable future,” Ms. Ny said.

However, she confirmed that the investigation could be reopened if Mr. Assange returned to Sweden before August 2020, the time limit for prosecution specified by the statute of limitations. It is very unlikely he will return to Sweden before 2020, knowing what lies in wait for him there. Assange was also chiefly responsible for releasing embarrassing revelations about Hilary Clinton through Wikileaks during the 2016 U.S elections. Assange has long been an enemy of the American government because of his limitless quest to release classified information, no matter the level of confidentiality associated with it. The Wikileaks founder still has a long road ahead of him, but will be very relieved of the dropped

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• Date
  19th May 2017