Mr Assange has criticised prosecutors for not trying to question him earlier at the Ecuadorian embassy, Mr Olsson said, adding: “The investigation should have been concluded a lot sooner given the circumstances of the case”.
Mr Assange denies all the charges and has remained inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June 2012.
It has raised questions over whether Assange might walk free but the prospect is unlikely as he still faces a potential charge of rape, the limitation on which does not run out until 2020.
According to Swedish authorities, three of the four charges against him will reach their five-year expiry date under Sweden’s statute of limitations and Assange will be automatically cleared.
The Swedish statement said an incident of suspected rape will be “time barred” on 17 August 2020 and the investigation would continue.
Swedish law states no charges can be brought without interviewing the accused first.
Julian Assange in Stockholm in August 2010.
Ecuador’s government “deplores the continued inaction of British and Swedish authorities over nearly 1,000 days”, read the statement.
Mr Assange previously said he agreed to be interviewed by Swedish authorities inside the embassy but he claimed in June the country’s chief prosecutor cancelled an interview appointment. MacFadyen said neither Assange nor Ecuador in any way obstructed the progression of the Swedish investigation.
He said: “There was no need for any of this”.
Attorneys for Assange however say suspicions Ecuador is using delaying tactics are unfounded. Assange sought asylum from Ecuador to avoid extradition to Sweden, fearing he would then be sent to the United States and put on trial for releasing secret American documents.
“From the beginning I offered simple solutions”.
Wikileaks fugitive Julian Assange has avoided prosecution for most of the sex assault claims against him because he’s been holed up in an embassy for so long.
Julian Assange, who turned 44 last month, strongly denies the accusations made by two women he met in Sweden five years ago.
“I am an innocent man”, he said.
Swire’s statement also referred to the estimated 10 million pounds (14 million euros, $15.6 million) that it has cost Britain to maintain a 24-hour police guard around the embassy for more than three years.
She reportedly said she hoped to arrange an interview as there were “ongoing negotiations” between Sweden and Ecuador.
However prosecutors failed to quiz the WikiLeaks frontman, with both Ecuadorian and Swedish officials blaming one another for the delay.
View the original content and more from this author here:
http://ift.tt/1h8cn9T
from hacker samurai http://ift.tt/1U1QWZO
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment