Image copyright AFP Image caption The focus will now be on whether Mr Assange can leave the Ecuadorean embassy in London

Sweden has decided to drop the rape investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Top prosecutor Marianne Ny said his arrest warrant was being revoked as it was impossible to serve him notice.

Mr Assange, 45, has lived in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012. He fears extradition to Sweden would lead to extradition to the US where he is wanted over leaks.

Ecuador has called on the UK to allow him safe passage out of the country.

However, police in London said they would still be obliged to arrest him if he left.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said Mr Assange still faced the lesser charge of failing to surrender to a court, an offence punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine.

But the UK has not commented on whether it has received an extradition request from the US, where Mr Assange could face trial over the leaking of hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.

Mr Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per Samuelson, said the prosecutor's decision on Friday represented "a total victory" for his client.

But the Wikileaks founder responded angrily in a tweet: "Detained for 7 years without charge... while my children grew up and my name was slandered. I do not forgive or forget."

The plaintiff in the rape case was "shocked" by the decision, her lawyer said, and maintained her accusations against Mr Assange, Agence France-Presse reported.

The decision coincided with the release by Wikileaks of another tranche of documents about the CIA's technical capabilities.

Why has the case been dropped?

At a press briefing on Friday, Ms Ny said that by remaining in the embassy in London Mr Assange had evaded the exercise of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) that would have seen him extradited to Sweden.

She said that under Swedish law a criminal investigation needed to be conducted "as quickly as possible".

Sweden did not expect Ecuador's co-operation in formally notifying Mr Assange of the allegations against him, a necessary step in proceeding with the case, she added.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Marianne Ny said the case could resume if Mr Assange visited Sweden before August 2020

But she said: "If he were to return to Sweden before the statute of limitation on this case expires in August 2020, the preliminary investigation could be resumed."

She said it was "regrettable we have not been able to carry out the investigation", and added: "We are not making any pronouncement about guilt."

What does Ecuador say?

A source at the Ecuadorean foreign ministry told the Press Association that Ecuador had "fully co-operated with the Swedish justice system".

The source criticised the Swedish prosecutor for "unnecessary delays" in the case but welcomed the latest decision.

The source added: "Ecuador will now be intensifying its diplomatic efforts with the UK so that Julian Assange can gain safe passage in order to enjoy his asylum in Ecuador."

How did Mr Assange end up where he is?

The rape allegation followed a Wikileaks conference in Stockholm in 2010. Mr Assange always denied the allegations against him, saying sex was consensual.

He also said the case was politically motivated, as it followed massive Wikileaks dumps of secret US military reports that year.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Assange speaks to the BBC's John Simpson in 2014

Later that year he was arrested in London after Sweden issued an international arrest warrant against him.

Then, in June 2012, after exhausting legal avenues to prevent his extradition, Mr Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy, where he remains to this day.

What will happen to Mr Assange now?

After the news was announced on Friday, Wikileaks tweeted that the "focus now moves to the UK", but Mr Assange's fate still seems unclear.

The MPS issued a statement saying that its actions had been based on a response to a "European Arrest Warrant for an extremely serious offence".

It went on: "Now that the situation has changed and the Swedish authorities have discontinued their investigation into that matter, Mr Assange remains wanted for a much less serious offence. The MPS will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offence."

The MPS said it would "not comment further on the operational plan".

Last month, Mr Samuelson filed a new motion calling for his client's arrest warrant to be lifted.

He cited a comment by new US Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the arrest of Mr Assange would be "a priority".

Mr Samuelson told Agence France-Presse: "This implies that we can now demonstrate that the US has a will to take action... this is why we ask for the arrest warrant to be cancelled."</s>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tweeted a photo of himself smiling on Friday morning, just minutes after news broke that Sweden’s director of public prosecution is dropping the investigation into an allegation of rape made against him.

Swedish prosecutors announced that a preliminary investigation into a rape allegation against Assange will be discontinued, ending a seven-year legal standoff. “Chief prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Explaining the decision, Nye wrote:

“In view of the fact that all prospects of pursuing the investigation under present circumstances are exhausted, it appears that it is no longer proportionate to maintain the arrest of Julian Assange in his absence. Consequently, there is no basis upon which to continue the investigation.”

Though Assange offered no immediate comment, he posted this picture to Twitter which clearly conveyed his reaction to the news:

Assange has always denied the allegations against him. Six months ago, Swedish prosecutors travelled to London to interview the WikiLeaks founder, who has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden.

The official WikiLeaks account — widely thought to be run by Assange himself — tweeted that the “focus now moves to the U.K.,” saying the U.K. had “refused to confirm or deny whether it has already received a U.S. extradition warrant for Julian Assange.”

While Sweden’s decision to drop the investigation against Assange will be a huge relief for him, he still runs the risk, should he leave the embassy in London, of extradition to the U.S. where he is wanted for questioning. In 2010, WikiLeaks published over half a million classified US military documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While no formal charges have been laid against the WikiLeaks founder, it is widely understood that the Department of Justice is preparing charges against Assange. Last month U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that arresting Assange was a priority: “We’ve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail,” he said.

In addition to looming U.S. charges, the Metropolitan police said Friday that a warrant for Assange’s arrest still stands, following his failure to surrender to the court on June 29 2012, adding that the force “is obliged to execute the warrant should he leave the embassy.”</s>Swedish prosecutors said Friday they would drop a preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, bringing to an end a seven-year legal stand-off.

"Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange," the prosecutors office said in a statement.

Assange took refuge in Ecuador's Embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about sex-crime allegations from two women. He has been there ever since, fearing that if he is arrested he might ultimately be extradited to the United States.

Friday's announcement means Assange is no longer under any investigation in Sweden.

But shortly after Swedish prosecutors announced they were dropping the investigation, British police said the 45-year-old Australian national would still be arrested if he left the Ecuadorian Embassy.

"Westminster Magistrates' Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the court on the 29 June 2012," London police said in a statement. "The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy."

Assange however could face trial in the US over the leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.

He was questioned in November in the presence of a Swedish prosecutor. He has repeatedly reiterated his innocence and said the sex was consensual.

The investigation has suffered from endless procedural complications since it began in 2010.

The statute of limitations on the rape allegation was due to expire in August 2020.</s>Swedish prosecutors are dropping the investigation of the allegation of rape against Julian Assange the Wikileaks founder, ending a 7-year legal stand-off.

Assange who is 45 has lived at the Ecuadorean Embassy in Knightsbridge, London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over the alleged allegation of rape.

Assange feared that Sweden would in fact hand him over to the United States as they want to prosecute him over the wikiLeaks publication of thousands of classified and sensitive military documents.

The Swedish prosecutor said in a statement: “Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape by Julian Assange.”

Assange posted this picture of him on his Twitter account just after the announcement.

However, the Metropolitan Police said that Assange is still wanted for a “much less serious” offence as he is wanted for breach of bail in June 2012.

In a statement the Metropolitan Police said: “Following today’s decision by the Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, in relation to the Swedish authorities investigation into Julian Assange the Metropolitan Police Service’s position is:

“Westminster Magistrates’ Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the court on the 29 June 2012. The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy.

“Whilst Mr Assange was wanted on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for an extremely serious offence, the MPS response reflected the serious nature of that crime. Now that the situation has changed and the Swedish authorities have discontinued their investigation into that matter, Mr Assange remains wanted for a much less serious offence. The MPS will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offence.

“The MPS will not comment further on the operational plan.

“The priority for the MPS must continue to be arresting those who are currently wanted in the Capital in connection with serious violent or sexual offences for the protection of Londoners.”

Assange’s Swedish lawyer, per Samuelsson filed a new motion calling for his client’s arrest warrant to be lifted last month, he cited a comment made by the US attorney general, Jeff Sessions the arrest of Assange “is a priority.”

Samuelsson said to Agence France Presse: “This implies that we can now demonstrate that the US has a will to take action. This is why we ask for the arrest warrant to be cancelled so that Julian Assange can fly to Ecuador and enjoy his political asylum.”

Jeff Sessions the US attorney general said last month that arresting Assange is “priority,” he said to reporters: “This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of.”

“We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious.”

“So yes, it is a priority.”</s>Swedish prosecutors have decided to end a rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The state's Director of Public Prosecutions Marianne Ny announced they would be dropping the case over an alleged attack seven years ago.

It clears the way for Mr Assange to leave the Ecuadorian embassy, where he has been living for almost five years to avoid extradition for questioning.

He has claimed that Sweden is likely to extradite him to the US over his leaking activities.

A brief statement ahead of today's press conference said: "Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange."</s>Swedish prosecutors on Friday dropped a preliminary probe into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, bringing to an end a seven-year legal standoff.

The announcement came after a letter sent to the Swedish government by the government of Ecuador saying there had been a "serious failure" by the prosecutor, including a "lack of initiative" to complete inquiries.

“Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange,” the prosecutors office said in a statement.

Assange has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden. He fears if he went to Sweden he could face extradition to the US over WikiLeaks’ release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.</s>Sweden's top prosecutor said Friday she's dropping an investigation into a rape claim against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after almost seven years because there's no possibility of arresting him "in the foreseeable future."

The announcement means the outspoken WikiLeaks leader no longer faces sex crime allegations in Sweden, although British police say he is still wanted for jumping bail in Britain in 2012.

Friday was the deadline for the Swedish prosecution to send a request to Stockholm District Court in the Assange case.

Assange, 45, took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about sex-crime allegations from two women. He has been there ever since, fearing that if he was in custody he might ultimately be extradited to the United States for his role at the helm of WikiLeaks, which has enraged governments around the world by publishing tens of thousands of leaked classified U.S. documents.

"This is a total victory for Julian Assange. He is now free to leave the embassy when he wants. We have won the Assange case. He is of course happy and relieved. He has been critical that it has lasted that long," Per E. Samuelsson, his lawyer in Sweden, told Swedish Radio.

It's not known if U.S. officials are seeking Assange's arrest because of a possible sealed indictment. Last month President Donald Trump said he would support any decision by the Justice Department to charge Assange.

WikiLeaks tweeted after the Swedish announcement: "UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a US extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to UK."

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said Friday that chief Marianne Ny "has decided to discontinue the investigation" and Ny said she will call back the European arrest warrant on Assange.

Ny told reporters that the WikiLeaks founder had "tried to dodge all attempts at arrest" by British and Swedish authorities. She said prosecutors had been unable to make a full assessment of the case and were not making a finding on whether Assange was guilty of the allegations.

She said the case could be reopened if Assange returns to Sweden before the statute of limitations expires in 2020.

Prosecutors frustrated by Assange's refusal to return to Sweden for questioning eventually came to London to meet with him at the Ecuadorean Embassy last year.

Samuelsson, the lawyer in Sweden, told Swedish Radio he had been in touch with Assange via text message and the Australian had written, "Serious, Oh My God."

British police said despite Sweden's decision to drop a rape investigation, Assange still faces arrest if he leaves Ecuador's embassy in London. The Metropolitan Police says there is a British warrant for Assange's arrest after he jumped bail in 2012, and the force "is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy."

But it added that Assange is now wanted for a "much less serious offense" than the original sex crimes claims, and police "will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offense."

British police kept up round-the-clock guard outside the embassy until December 2015, when the operation was scaled back, in part because of the cost, which had exceeded 11 million pounds (over $17.5 million at the time).

Assange and WikiLeaks have repeatedly infuriated U.S. officials with the widespread release of sensitive secret documents related to military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and diplomatic relations around the world. WikiLeaks also had a provocative role in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign when it published emails written by Hillary Clinton campaign officials.

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning served seven years in prison for giving classified material to WikiLeaks. She was freed Wednesday, having had her sentence commuted by outgoing President Barack Obama before he left office.

Katz reported from London. Jill Lawless in London and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this story.</s>
• Swedish prosecutors are dropping their investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over rape allegations.
• Assange has been sheltering in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition.
• But he will still be arrested if he leaves the embassy because he failed to surrender to a court in 2012.

Swedish prosecutors said on Friday they would drop a preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday, bringing to an end an epic seven-year legal stand-off.

However, he's not a free man just yet.

"Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange," the prosecutors office said in a statement. It is being dropped because the investigators cannot proceed, rather than because the prosecutors reached any decision on whether or not Assange is guilty.

The investigation could be reopend if he revists Sweden before August 2020.

Julian Assange responded to the initial news on Twitter by posting a photo of him smiling.

Assange, 45, has lived in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden over the allegation of rape, which he denies.

Assange has maintained that if he went to Sweden to answer questions about the allegations, he would then be extradited to the US for his political activities with Wikileaks.

It's not immediately clear if or when Assange will try leave the embassy — Wikileaks did not immediately respond to a message from Business Insider seeking comment.

But the official Wikileaks account indicated in a tweet that the organisation is still concerned about a potential extradition to the US. It tweeted: "UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a US extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to UK."

The Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, has said that it will still arrest Assange if he tries to leave. A warrant was issued in 2012 because he failed to surrender to a court (instead taking refuge in the embassy). This warrant remains in force, even though the allegations are no longer being investigated.

"The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy," the law enforcement organisation said in a statement.

"Whilst Mr Assange was wanted on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for an extremely serious offence, the MPS response reflected the serious nature of that crime. Now that the situation has changed and the Swedish authorities have discontinued their investigation into that matter, Mr Assange remains wanted for a much less serious offence. The MPS will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offence."

Failure to surrender is punishable with up to 12 months in prison, per the Crown Prosecution Service's website.

"In view of the fact that all prospects of pursuing the investigation are now exhausted, it appears that, in light of the views expressed by the Supreme Court in its assessment of the proportionality in this case, it is no longer proportionate to maintain the arrest of Julian Assange in his absence via a European Arrest Warrant," the prosecutors said in a statement.

"If Julian Assange were to return to Sweden before the statue of limitation for the crime elapses in August 2020 the preliminary investigation could however be reopened," Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny said at a press conference on Friday.

Ny said that the decision to discontinue the investigation did not relate to the question of whether Assange was guilty or not, but rather because it was impossible to proceed with the investigation: "We don't make any statements on the issue of guilt."

Cost did not play a part in the decision to close the investigation, she said.

Wikileaks is fiercely controversial, and has repeatedly drawn the ire of the American government for its release of highly classified documents. These include internal memos from US embassies, and a "Collateral Murder" video which showed a US helicopter firing on journalists in Iraq.

In the run-up to the US presidential election last year, Wikileaks released emails and documents taken from the Democratic Party — dominating the news cycle with headlines unfavourable to establishment favourite Hillary Clinton. The US government has said the documents were stolen by Russian hackers, and deliberately released to undermine faith in the election and destabilise Clinton.

Assange's five years of self-imposed captivity have not been easy. He has suffered from health ailments, Wikileaks has said, but has not left to seek treatment for fear of being arrested. The relationship with his Ecuadorian hosts has been at time strained. Documents leaked to BuzzFeed detailed apparent concerns about his psychological health, and included photos of how a book case was thrown across his room in 2013.</s>Julian Assange is no longer being investigated for sexual assault in Sweden.

In a statement released online Friday morning, Sweden’s director of public prosecutions Marianne Ny says authorities have moved to drop their investigation of the Australian WikiLeaks founder, revoking the Swedish arrest warrant against him.

“At this point, all possibilities to conduct the investigation are exhausted. In order to proceed with the case, Julian Assange would have to be formally notified of the criminal suspicions against him,” part of the statement reads. “We cannot expect to receive assistance from Ecuador regarding this. Therefore the investigation is discontinued.”

The history of the investigation dates back to 2010, when two women came forward to accuse Assange, 45, of sexual assault and rape. According to USA Today, he has denied these allegations and been living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London for five years, where he was granted diplomatic asylum in 2012.

“The motive is that there is no reason to believe that the decision to surrender him to Sweden can be executed in the foreseeable future,” Ny said in the statement.

Assange celebrated the news by posting a smiling photo on his personal Twitter account.

However, Ny didn’t rule out the possibility of renewing the investigation, adding, “If he, at a later date, makes himself available, I will be able to decide to resume the investigation immediately.”

NPR‘s Frank Langfitt reports that Assange’s fear of extradition to Sweden would lead to him being extradited to the United States, “where he could face trial for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic and military documents.”

British law enforcement made it clear that they would still take legal action regarding Assange should the need arise, and that the decision from Sweden does not affect other reasons for his potential arrest for a “less serious offense”

“Westminster Magistrates’ Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the court on June 29, 2012,” Metropolitan Police said in a statement. “The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy.”

“Now that the situation has changed and the Swedish authorities have discontinued their investigation into that matter, Mr Assange remains wanted for a much less serious offense,” they said. “The MPS will provide a level of resourcing which is proportionate to that offense.”</s>Sweden is dropping its investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on rape allegations, according to a prosecution statement released Friday. Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012.
Swedish prosecutors drop a seven-year sexual assault investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.