Julian Assange: Swedish prosecutors to announce decision on reopening rape investigation

Lawyer for alleged victim has demanded Assange face justice in Sweden over 2010 accusations

Swedish prosecutors are set to decide on Monday whether the rape investigation into Julian Assange will be reopened.

The deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson will hold a press conference at 10am on Monday morning to reveal her decision.

A lawyer for the victim of Mr Assange’s alleged rape has already requested the Swedish authorities re-open the case.

The case dates back to 2010, when two women in Sweden separately accused Mr Assange of rape and sexual assault. The Wikileaks founder denied the allegations and insisted he had only had consensual sex with the women.

It was while he was on bail fighting efforts to extradite him to Sweden to face the accusations Mr Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for the next seven years.

The sexual assault inquiry was dropped in 2015 when the statute of limitations had passed, and investigators also abandoned the rape investigation in 2017 because they were unable to continue their inquiries while Mr Assange was inaccessible in the embassy.

Now Mr Assange has been evicted by Ecuador from the embassy and is back in the custody of the British courts, Ms Persson must decide if she will restart the case against him.

The lawyer for one of Mr Assange’s alleged victims, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, said after Mr Assange’s sudden expulsion from the embassy and arrest: “It did understandably come as a shock to my client that what we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012 has now finally happened.

“We are going to do everything we possibly can to get the Swedish police investigation re-opened so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape. No rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served.”

Under Swedish law, prosecutors have until next year to re-open the investigation, until the statute of limitations kicks in in August 2020. However, the Wikileaks boss is also being sought by the United States over computer hacking charges.

Last month Mr Assange was jailed for 50 weeks in prison for his bail offences from 2012. Once that sentence has been served the British authorities would have to choose between the two competing extradition requests, should Sweden decide to re-open its rape case.

The home secretary Sajid Javid would be responsible for deciding which extradition request would take precedence. Mr Assange has long resisted any efforts to send him to face trial in the US, arguing his life would be at risk and the charges amount to the criminalisation of legitimate journalism.

However, he also has fought extradition to Sweden – ultimately choosing to hole up inside the embassy for years when it became clear the UK would hand him over to Stockholm.