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Julian Assange To Be Questioned By Swedish Prosecutors In Ecuadorian Embassy By July

Latest Move By Swedish Prosecutors Could Soon See Assange Leave
Aubrey Allegretti
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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - SEPTEMBER 15: Julian Assange appears on screen to discuss the revelations about New Zealand's mass surveillance at Auckland Town Hall on September 15, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. The general election in New Zealand will be held this weekend, on 20 September 2014. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Hannah Peters via Getty Images

Sweden has asked the UK and Ecuadorian authorities to be able to interview WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the embassy he has been living in since 2012, before a statute of limitations on a sexual assault claim runs out later this year.

The country's director of public prosecutions announced on Monday she had contacted both countries' diplomatic services, and hoped to question Assange in London before the end of July.

The Australian national is facing an investigation into alleged sex crimes that stretches back nearly five years.

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Assange pictured with Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino at the country's UK embassy

Since 2010, prosecutors have sought to interrogate Assange over allegations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal coercion made by two women after his visit to Sweden that year - claims he strenuously denies.

But the country's director of public prosecution, Marianne Ny, is hurrying to advance investigations, as laws in Sweden state that a person can only be prosecuted for unlawful coercion for up to five years after the charge has been levied.

Story continues beneath slideshow...

Julian Assange's Friends and Former Friends
Still Friends: Vaughan Smith(01 of09)
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Soldier turned journalist Vaughan Smith lost the £12,000 he put up as surety for Assange's bail when he sought refuge in Ecuador's embassy.Smith also put the Wikileaks founder up at his Norfolk estate for more than a year while Assange's legal challenge to extradition went through the courts. Smith said he was "shocked" at Assange's flight to the embassy and was "troubled" by the loss of the money but stood by his old friend.He told ITV: "It's a considerable sum and I don't think there are many people who could afford to lose that amount of money. "It's a balance between Julian's interests and my family's interests, but at least my family aren't facing extradition or a life sentence, so I feel that now is not the time to abandon Julian as a friend."I'm convinced that Julian really believes that if he is sent to Sweden he will be sent to the US. I don't know whether that's true but if he were that would obviously be perilous."
Still Friends: John Pilger(02 of09)
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The most aggressive supporter of Julian Assange is also just about the only journalist he has not ended up hating.John Pilger has kept the faith over Assange and repeatedly, publicly defended him and attacked his critics.He attacked Wikileaks documentary We Steal Secrets as "abusive". When Wikileaks was described as an Assange cult, he wrote a piece saying "Assange hate is the real cult."When former close supporter Jemima Khan distanced herself from Assange, Pilger claimed she had "ended her support for an epic struggle for justice, truth and freedom".
Still Friends: Ken Loach(03 of09)
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The film director has been relatively tight-lipped about Assange but we think there's ample evidence he's still a fan.Loach has compared the noble hero of his latest film, Jimmy's Hall, to the Wikileaks founder.The film is the story of an Irishman who reopens a community hall in his village so everyone can dance and discuss left-wing politics to their heart's content, incurring the wrath of nearly everyone in authority.The Telegraph's two-star review called it "exasperatingly thin".
Still Friends: Phillip Knightley(04 of09)
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Ok, so weren't quite right when we said Pilger was the only journalist Assange had not fallen out with.Phillip Knightley, the legendary investigative reporter who lost £15,000 when Assange skipped bail, said he did not regret it at all and said Assange sought asylum only after "exhausting every other possible remedy"He said: "I'm not worried about my commitment. I would do it again. He's an Australian and he deserves my compatriot's support. He's been treated terribly by the British and Swedish justice systems and I think he's the victim of a conspiracy."
Drifted Apart: Birgitta Jonsdottir(05 of09)
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The Icelandic MP and Assange have drifted apart and no longer speak but, as they did not have a huge public falling out, we think they still count as friends by Assange's standards.Jonsdottir has passionately defended Wikileaks and said Assange has "every reason" to fear extradition to America if he goes to Sweden.She told The New Republic: "I am not speaking with Julian, I haven’t spoken with him for a while. ... I left Wikileaks a long time ago and our friendship soured, so I’m just doing my thing and he’s doing his."
Frenemy: Andrew O'Hagan(06 of09)
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The first of our ex-Team Assange people. If you're going to piss people off, don't piss off your mild-mannered ghost writer who will write a 26,000 word essay about how difficult you are.O'Hagan's piece described the nightmarish experience of trying to get Assange to put in the legwork into his autobiography, which O'Hagan was meant to ghostwrite after Assange received a six-figure advance.He wrote: "The man who put himself in charge of disclosing the world's secrets simply couldn't bear his own. The story of his life mortified him and sent him scurrying for excuses. He didn't want to do the book. He hadn't from the beginning."The fiasco ended with the publisher putting out a draft of the autobiography, after Assange stopped co-operating, and dubbed it his "unauthorised autobiography".
Friend Turned Foe: Jemima Khan(07 of09)
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Jemima Khan, The associate editor of the New Statesman, lost £20,000 she put up for Assange's bail. She wrote a piece attacking him, saying he had "alienated" his allies.She said: "WikiLeaks... has been guilty of the same obfuscation and misinformation as those it sought to expose, while its supporters are expected to follow, unquestioningly, in blinkered, cultish devotion."She compared Assange to the founder of Scientology, saying: "It would be a tragedy if a man who has done so much good were to end up tolerating only disciples and unwavering devotion, more like an Australian L Ron Hubbard."
Friends Turned Foes: Everyone In The British And American Press Wikileaks Has Worked With(08 of09)
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Assange loathes The New York Times and The Guardian, the two principal media partners that helped Wikileaks get the story about the atrocities of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars out to a large raudience.At one point, Assange threatened The Guardian with legal action over the publication of the cables. Then editor of the New York Times Bill Keller called him "arrogant and thin-skinned".The Guardian's Nick Davies was a particular focus of his ire, especially after he reported leaked details of the rape case against Assange that awaits him, if he ever sets foot in the country.
Friend Turned Foe: Daniel Domscheit-Berg(09 of09)
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The former Wikileaks spokesman fell out with Assange about the direction of the organisation and their public spat has continued ever since.Domscheit-Berg's memoir of his time with Assange became the basis for the feature film The Fifth Estate, which Assange vehemently attacked.He wrote the film was a "massive propaganda attack". It depicts Domscheit-Berg as an integral player in Wikileaks but Assange played down his role in the group, saying it was minimal.He said of the film: "How does this have anything to do with us? It is a lie upon lie. The movie is a massive propaganda attack on WikiLeaks and the character of my staff."

A statement from judicial authorities said interviews with Assange would be led by the supporting prosecutor to the case, Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren, and a police investigator, and added that investigations would be "subject to usual secrecy".

It said: "Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny has submitted a request for legal assistance to the English authorities and a request to Ecuadorian authorities regarding permission to interview Julian Assange at Ecuador’s embassy in London during June-July 2015, at a period of time that would be suitable for all parties concerned.

"When all necessary permits and arrangements are ready, the investigative matters will be performed by the supporting prosecutor to the case, Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren, together with a police investigator.

"As the investigation is ongoing it is subject to usual secrecy."

Assange has resisted questioning over the alleged crimes by authorities in Sweden for fear of being extradited to the United States over his website’s hand in helping leak the Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley, confidential defence files.

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