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May 20, 2019

Sweden Requests Detention of Assange as WikiLeaks Accuses U.S. of Illegally Seizing His Property
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Swedish authorities issued a request Monday for the detention in
absentia of Wiki Leaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing rape
charges in Sweden and is currently serving jail time in Britain for
skipping bail in 2012. Last week, Swedish prosecutors reopened a sexual
assault investigation into Assange which was dropped in 2017 because
they said the case could not proceed while Assange was holed up at the
Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he lived for seven years before
being forcefully removed by British police last month. Assange has
denied the accusation, and his lawyer representing him in Sweden said he
has not been able to get hold of his client to discuss the detention
order. Wiki Leaks' Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has previously
said of Sweden's case, "Since Julian Assange was arrested on 11 April
2019 there has been considerable political pressure on Sweden to reopen
their investigation, but there has always been political pressure
surrounding this case. Its reopening will give Julian a chance to clear
his name. This case has been mishandled throughout." Assange must
reportedly serve 25 weeks of his British prison sentence before he can
be released. Assange now faces possible extradition to both Sweden and
the United States, where he is wanted for the publication of leaked
documents by Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning which showed evidence of
U.S. war crimes in Iraq.

In related news, Wiki Leaks is reporting that Ecuador will allow U.S.
prosecutors to go through and take possession of Assange's belongings
left in their London embassy. Assange reportedly has two manuscripts at
his former living quarters; his lawyers have called it an illegal
seizure of property.


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