01:33Sweden: Assange's lawyer tells Ruptly impact of Swedish prosecutor's decision
The Swedish lawyer of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Per Erik Samuelson, discussed the impact of the Swedish prosecutor's decision to drop the investigation over his rape allegations, as he spoke to Ruptly from Stockholm on Friday.
Samuelson said that, even if there is a risk that Assange could be extradited from the UK under the US's application, for the Swedish state Assange is "a free man" and can leave the Ecuadorian embassy at any moment.
The lawyer believes that it's only a matter of time until negotiations between the UK and Ecuador will come to an end and the Wikileaks founder will be able to leave the Ecuadorian embassy and move to Ecuador.
Swedish prosecutors announced their decision earlier in the day from the Swedish capital, as the allegations of rape against Assange have been "exhausted. As they stated that the investigation would be discontinued, prosecutors revoked its arrest warrant.
However, Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny said the investigation could be resumed "if Julian Assange were to return to Sweden before the statute of limitation on this case expires in August 2020."
Assange has been residing in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge in the building in order to avoid extradition to Sweden.
01:33The Swedish lawyer of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Per Erik Samuelson, discussed the impact of the Swedish prosecutor's decision to drop the investigation over his rape allegations, as he spoke to Ruptly from Stockholm on Friday.
Samuelson said that, even if there is a risk that Assange could be extradited from the UK under the US's application, for the Swedish state Assange is "a free man" and can leave the Ecuadorian embassy at any moment.
The lawyer believes that it's only a matter of time until negotiations between the UK and Ecuador will come to an end and the Wikileaks founder will be able to leave the Ecuadorian embassy and move to Ecuador.
Swedish prosecutors announced their decision earlier in the day from the Swedish capital, as the allegations of rape against Assange have been "exhausted. As they stated that the investigation would be discontinued, prosecutors revoked its arrest warrant.
However, Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny said the investigation could be resumed "if Julian Assange were to return to Sweden before the statute of limitation on this case expires in August 2020."
Assange has been residing in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge in the building in order to avoid extradition to Sweden.