Sweden Drops The Julian Assange Rape Investigation, But That Doesn't Mean He's Free

Swedish prosecutors are dropping an investigation into a rape claim against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after almost seven years because there's no possibility of arresting him "in the foreseeable future."

The announcement means the outspoken WikiLeaks leader no longer faces sex crime allegations in Sweden, although British police say he is still wanted for jumping bail in Britain in 2012.

The WikiLeaks founder, who is 45, took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London that year to escape extradition to Sweden. He did so to avoid answering questions about sex-crime allegations from two women.

Assange has been there ever since, fearing that if he was in custody he might ultimately be extradited to the United States for his role at the helm of WikiLeaks, which has enraged governments around the world by publishing tens of thousands of classified U.S. documents.

"This is a total victory for Julian Assange," Per E. Samuelsson, his lawyer in Sweden, told Swedish Radio. "He is now free to leave the embassy when he wants. We have won the Assange case. He is of course happy and relieved. He has been critical that it has lasted that long."

But, the picture is more complicated than that.

No. The investigation began after two women accused Assange of sexual offences during a 2010 visit to Stockholm. Sweden asked Britain to extradite Assange for questioning, and in June 2012 he sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid arrest.

After that, the investigation stalled. Swedish prosecutors dropped cases of alleged sexual misconduct when the statute of limitations ran out in 2015, leaving only the rape allegation.

Marianne Ny, the Swedish director of public prosecutions, announced Friday that she was dropping the rape case because there is no prospect of bringing Assange to Sweden "in the foreseeable future" and it is "no longer proportionate" to maintain the European arrest warrant.

She told a news conference in Stockholm that the investigation could be reopened if Assange returns to Sweden before the statute of limitations lapses in 2020.

Ny said the case was not being dropped because Assange was found innocent.

"We don't make any statement of guilty or not," she said.

Sweden has revoked a European arrest warrant for Assange, so British police are no longer seeking him for extradition. But there is also a warrant issued by a British court after he skipped bail in June 2012.

London's Metropolitan Police force says it "is obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the embassy." The maximum sentence for that offence is a year in prison.

Police indicated they will significantly scale back the resources dedicated to making sure Assange does not escape now that he is wanted for a much less serious crime.

That's unclear. Assange suspects there is a secret U.S. indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of leaked American documents, which has infuriated U.S. officials. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has branded WikiLeaks a "hostile intelligence service," and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last month that Assange's arrest is a priority.

Both U.S. and British officials have declined to comment on whether there is a warrant for Assange's arrest.

Some legal experts say it makes his position less secure. Until Friday, Britain was bound to honour Sweden's extradition request before any warrant from the United States. That is no longer the case.

Lawyer David Allen Green, who has followed the case, tweeted: "Once outside embassy, Assange more at risk from any U.S. extradition attempt than if he had gone to Sweden."

Assange could fight any U.S. extradition request in the British courts, a process that could take years.

WikiLeaks' release of classified material has continued unabated during Assange's five years in the Ecuadoran embassy. On Friday, the group released what it said were new details of CIA cyberespionage tools.