Tag: Assange

Sweden offers to question Assange in London

Swedish prosecutors have asked for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s approval to question him in London where he is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, the prosecutors said on Friday.

The prosecutor is also asking to conduct a DNA test.

Assange has been stuck inside the South American country’s London embassy since June 2012 to avoid a British extradition to Sweden. Sweden wants to question him on allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.

The Australian says he fears that if Britain extradited him to Sweden he would then be extradited to the United States where he could be tried for one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Ecuador wants to take Assange to Sweden under its protection

Julian Assange in Ecuador embassy
Julian Assange speaks to the media from the Ecuadorian embassy in London

Ecuador has suggested that it take WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden for questioning under its protection, in the latest move in the diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Assange took shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June, in an effort to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning in relation to allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Ecuador has granted the Australian asylum inside the embassy but Britain says it will not allow him to leave the building for the South American country.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Richard Patino said late Friday that he would discuss the proposal with his British counterpart William Hague on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday.

Patino said the meeting would be aimed at “finding a diplomatic solution framed within international law to the case of the refugee Julian Assange.”

Assange says he fears that once extradited to Sweden he could be extradited to the United States. There he could face charges related to the release by WikiLeaks of US diplomatic cables, under which he could face the death penalty. – DPA