Ecuador Agrees To Let Swedish Investigators Quiz Julian Assange Over Rape Charges
>>Inside Their London Embassy
- Julian Assange still wanted for questioning over rape allegations
- Assange has been at Ecuadorian embassy in London for three years
- New deal would see Swedish prosecutors question Assange at embassy
Daily Mail UK, 14 December 2015
Sweden and Ecuador have reached a deal in which could see some long-awaited progress in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Assange, 44, is still wanted for questioning over a rape allegation made by a Swedish woman five years ago, and has been holed up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London since being granted political asylum in 2012.
The new deal could see Assange interviewed by Swedish authorities inside the embassy, possibly ending his three-year residency.
Final breakthrough: The possible deal is set to see Julian Assange being questioned by Swedish authorities while he remains inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London
Assange was initially arrested in the UK five years ago, after being wanted for questioning over two counts of sexual molestation and one count of unlawful coercion, alleged to have been committed against two women during a visit to Sweden in August 2010.
In August this year, Swedish prosecutors announced they were dropping investigations into two allegations as the statute of limitations had run out.
This leaves one allegation of rape against one of the women, which will expire in 2020 under Swedish law, which Assange continues to deny.
Assange sought and was granted political by the Ecuador government in 2012 after losing several attempts to avoid extradition to Sweden, something which he still fears would see him transported to the U.S. to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks.
Ecuador said the agreement between Quito and Stockholm will ease 'judicial procedures such as the questioning of Mr Assange'.
Expensive guest: The 24-hour police surveillance of the embassy, which was in place until October this year, cost Scotland Yard more than £12.5million
A representative added: 'The agreement, without any doubt, is a tool that strengthens bilateral relations and facilitates, for example, the execution of such legal actions as the questioning of Mr Assange, isolated in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.'
According to Julian Assange's Swedish legal representative, Sweden still needs to formally approve the deal, which is due to be discussed on Thursday, the Guardian reports.
Britain, which has accused Ecuador of preventing the course of justice by allowing Assange to remain in its embassy in the upmarket central London area of Knightsbridge, welcomed the agreement.
'It is for the Swedish Prosecutor to decide how they now proceed with a legal case,' a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said.
It is unlikely Mr Assange will be questioned until the new year, but his friends said it was a positive sign, pointing out he has been pressing to be interviewed for years.
A possible end to Assange's residency at the embassy in London would be welcome news to Scotland Yard, who recently ended their 24-hour guard outside the Knightsbridge address.
Scotland Yard provided round-the-clock armed officers in order to arrest Assange should he leave the Ecuadorian embassy until October this year
The decision to end the surveillance came after repeated attacks on the cost of the operation, which has cost the UK taxpayer £12.6million so far
Baltasar Garzon, co-ordinator of Mr Assange's international legal defence team, said:
'We are glad that Ecuador and Sweden have reached an agreement for judicial co-operation. The most important thing now is that it must provide the appropriate legal guarantees.'