© Sputnik / Justin Griffiths-Williams
19.11.2019
In May, Swedish prosecutors announced the reopening of the investigation against Julian Assange over rape charges, just over a month after he was stripped of his political asylum by Ecuador and arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Sweden will not proceed with its preliminary probe into sexual assault claims against Julian Assange, WikiLeaks whistleblowing organization said Tuesday.
Commenting on the decision, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson underscored the need to “now focus on the threat Mr Assange has been warning about for years: the belligerent prosecution of the United States and the threat it poses to the First Amendment”.
In a statement on Tuesday, WikiLeaks, in turn, expressed regret over the fact that “a process in Sweden, with which Mr Assange has always expressed his willingness to engage and indeed did so, became so exceptionally politicised itself”.
In this vein, WikiLeaks insisted that instead of the investigation against Assange, a probe “into how the justice system failed to withstand the political and media pressure and lessons learned should be pursued”.
Referring to the Trump administration seeking “a 175-year prison sentence for the same journalistic work that has won Mr. Assange […] dozens of journalism prizes”, WikiLeaks warned that Washington’s prosecution of Assange may “deal a fatal blow to the First Amendment in the United States and set back press freedoms globally”.
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