Prosecutor in Sweden has decided to discontinue the investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The dramatic announcement came ahead of a press conference by the DPP, Marianne Ny, into the
Mr Assange has been living inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for almost five years and has been granted political asylum. He posted a picture to his Twitter account after the news, showing him smiling and relaxing.
A brief statement ahead of today’s press conference said: “Director of Public Prosecution, Ms Marianne Ny, has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange.”
Friday’s development follows a letter sent to the Swedish government by the government of Ecuador saying there had been a “serious failure” by the prosecutor, including a “lack of initiative” to complete inquiries.
The letter raised developments in the United States since the election of Donald Trump as President, including a speech by CIA director Mike Pompeo describing WikiLeaks as a “hostile intelligence service”.
Recent public declarations such as this constitute an “obvious risk” for Mr Assange, said the letter.
Mr Assange originally faced three sex allegations, all of which he denied.
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