Elusive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was granted political asylum by Ecuador and has been living inside the country’s embassy in London for the past four years, will be questioned by Swedish authorities who will travel to the embassy. The date of questioning has not yet been announced, but it will be in regards to an alleged rape Assange committed in Stockholm in 2010. Assange denies the allegations, while Swedish authorities have been conducting an ongoing investigation.
The New York Times reports that Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor’s office, said that the investigation was almost finished, but that “the interview with the suspect has been missing all the time.”
According to The Guardian, “If Assange goes back to Sweden, he believes he will be taken to the U.S. because of the activities with WikiLeaks.” The Guardian also reports that the Ecuadorian statement reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Assange and “reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution.”
Assange had previously offered to be questioned inside the embassy, but Swedish prosecutors only recently agreed.
(Via The Guardian and The New York Times)