STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Swedish prosecutors confirmed that rape charges against Assange had been dropped following a seven-year investigation, but the UK police said it would still have to arrest Assange if he stepped out of the embassy.
"Assange's case was closed by the Swedish side, the probe is over and the warrant for his arrest has been canceled. Whether Assange will be arrested when he leaves the [Ecuadorian] embassy is no longer up to Sweden," the lawyer told the Swedish SVT broadcaster.
In 2010, Sweden began its investigation into rape allegedly committed by Assange. Since being granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012, Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Assange did not want to submit to questioning in Sweden for fear that he might be extradited to the United States over his whistleblowing organization's exposure of classified documents that shed light on activities of the US government.
