Swedish authorities want to extradite Julian Assange for rape

Enlarge / Assange arrives at court in London on May 1, 2019 to be sentenced for bail violation. (credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

Prosecutors in Sweden have reopened their investigation into a 2010 rape allegation against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, a first step toward seeking his extradition to Sweden. The Swedish case was closed in 2017 due to Assange's ongoing asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

That asylum-which began in 2012-ended last month when Assange was finally evicted from the embassy and was promptly arrested by the British authorities. A judge sentenced him to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail.

"There is still probable cause to suspect that Mr. Assange committed rape," Swedish prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson said at a Monday press conference.

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