MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some of the cases against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be discontinued, as the statute of limitation will shortly expire, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement Thursday.
"Julian Assange, on his own accord, has evaded prosecution by seeking refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador. As the statute of limitation has run on some of the crimes, I am compelled to discontinue the investigation with respect to these crimes,” Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny is quoted as saying in the statement.
The investigation will be dropped on an incident of suspected unlawful coercion and an incident of sexual molestation, time barred August 13. The statute of limitation on an additional incident of sexual molestation expires on August 18.
An incident of suspected rape will be time barred on August 17, 2020, according to the prosecution, and the investigation of this alleged crime will continue.