Sweden has reopened an investigation into a rape allegation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, complicating U.S. efforts to extradite him.
Swedish prosecutor Marie Persson said Monday “a new questioning of Assange is required” and there is “still probable cause to suspect that Assange committed rape.”
The alleged victim requested the reopening of the investigation.
Prosecutors will seek the extradition of Assange after he’s done serving his 50-week jail sentence for breaking his bail conditions after he claimed asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face the allegations.
If both the U.S. and Sweden seek to extradite the WikiLeaks founder, British officials will determine where he will end up.
“I am well aware of the fact that an extradition process is ongoing in the U.K. and that he could be extradited to the U.S. In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the U.S., U.K. authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict,” Persson said.
Prosecutors also noted that the statute of limitations in the rape case expire in August 2020.
In the U.S., Assange faces charges that he conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer network in 2010. The single-count conspiracy indictment carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
