Swedish prosecutor trying to question Assange
A Swedish prosecutor says she still aims to question WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London over a rape allegation in Sweden.
In a statement, Marianne Ny said she has decided to go ahead with the questioning despite a UN report condemning Stockholm for his "arbitrary detention."
"Concerning the report that was issued last week, I would like to state that it does not change my earlier assessments in the investigation," she added.
Ny also noted that she was "currently working on a renewed request to interview Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London."
Assange sought refuge in the Ecuador’s embassy in June 2012 after Swedish authorities issued a European warrant for his arrest over a 2005 rape allegation.
Assange has refused to travel to Stockholm for questioning amid fears Sweden will extradite him to the US over WikiLeaks' release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled last week that Assange's confinement to the embassy in London amounted to an arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain. Stockholm and London rejected the findings.
"Mr Assange is free to leave the embassy at any point and Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay at the embassy," the Swedish Foreign Ministry said.
Sweden has tried to question Assange since March 2015, and reached a judicial agreement with Ecuador in December that Quito said was necessary to pave the way for Swedish prosecutors to interrogate him.
But Quito has not yet granted Swedish prosecutors access to him, rejecting the most recent request in January on a technicality.
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