Swedish prosecutor arrives for Assange questioning

By Michael Sercan Daventry

LONDON (AA) - A Swedish prosecutor arrived at the Ecuadorean embassy in London on Monday for the questioning of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over rape allegations, local media said.

Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren made no comment as she entered the building where Assange has been holed up for more than four years, the Guardian newspaper’s online edition reported.

The Australian, 45, took refuge in August 2012 after U.K. authorities granted a Swedish extradition request.

Assange denies a Swedish woman’s allegation that he raped her in 2010 and has said the extradition is an attempt to send him to the U.S., where there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Wikileaks’ activities. The site published thousands of classified U.S. documents in 2010.

By skipping bail to hide out at the embassy, Assange prompted a diplomatic stalemate as police were unable to enter the premises and he was unable to leave.

Previously, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the interview would be conducted by an Ecuadorean prosecutor and that a DNA sample would be taken with Assange’s consent. After the interview, the “prosecutors will take a view on the continuation of the investigation,” the statement said.

On Monday morning, Wikileaks tweeted: “After UN & court findings condemning 6 years of abuses by Sweden against Assange, Sweden finally takes his statement for the first time ever.”

In February, a UN panel said Assange’s stay at the embassy qualified as arbitrary detention and that he should be freed and awarded compensation.

Wikileaks, which publishes leaked documents online, most recently released thousands of emails belonging to Hillary Clinton’s U.S. presidential campaign.