|
Assange, 45, took
refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden
over the rape allegation, which he denies.
He feared Sweden would hand him over to the United States to
face prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of
classified military and diplomatic documents in one of the
largest information leaks in U.S. history.
The Swedish prosecutor's office said in a statement it had
decided to end its investigation. In a court document seen by
Reuters, chief prosecutor Marianne Ny said there were no further
avenues to pursue to take the investigation forward.
However, London police issued a statement after the Swedish
announcement making clear Assange was still wanted by them.
"Westminster Magistrates' Court issued a warrant for the arrest
of Julian Assange following him failing to surrender to the
court on the 29 June 2012," the police said.
"The Metropolitan Police Service is obliged to execute that
warrant should he leave the Embassy."
(Reporting by Stockholm Newsroom; Editing by Niklas Pollard and
Gareth Jones)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
