Assange’s lawyer says Wikileaks founder to seek asylum in France
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will try to seek asylum in France following a decision of the Swedish authorities to drop rape allegations against him, Assnage’s lawyer Juan Branco said Friday.
Earlier in the day, Swedish prosecutors confirmed that rape probe 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.
“Julian Assange will now try to get out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London and ask France to make such a gesture and to provide asylum in order to protect himself from the US prosecution against him,” Branco told Franceinfo broadcaster.
According to Branco, it will be a “responsibility of France” to provide Assange with political asylum.
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.
