Now put him in the dock for rape in Sweden, say accusers
SWEDISH prosecutors last night said they would consider reopening the rape investigation against Assange after his alleged victims demanded justice.
The case against the WikiLeaks founder was dropped in 2017, but the lawyer of one of his alleged victims says they will ‘do all we can’ to reopen the investigation.
Elisabeth Massi Fritz said her client, who was referred to as Miss W in court documents, had been waiting for Assange’s eviction from the Ecuador embassy for seven years, and was in ‘shock’ at his arrest in London yesterday.
The announcement came as a second woman, who accused Assange of sexual assault in 2010 and was referred to as Miss A in court documents, said she would be willing to appear as a witness in that case.
Miss A claims Assange violently forced himself upon her after an initial consensual encounter but the fiveyear statute of limitations on her allegation has passed. Her identity has been leaked online and she was the target of slurs and threats in the wake of her allegations in 2010.
Miss A, who has since married, said she feared reprisals against her family after Assange was arrested yesterday. She said she would be ‘disappointed’ if Assange was extradited to the US.
Speaking out about the incident for the first time in a decade, Miss A, who has statutory anonymity, told the Expressen newspaper: ‘After ten years, I’m ready to make a statement. For me, it was never about anything other than his harassment of me or other women and his refusal to take responsibility for that. It’s a shame that my case was never investigated properly.’
Asked how she had reacted to yesterday’s news, Miss A told The Times: ‘I am fine, a bit nervous that my family will be threatened again, but OK. I saw the video [of his arrest]. I am prepared to come in as a witness if I am called to court in this other case.’
Swedish officials said the statute of limitations on Miss W’s rape case had not passed and could be reopened at any point until August next year. Deputy chief prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson said: ‘We will now examine the matter to determine how we proceed.’
Miss Fritz said news of Assange’s arrest had come as a ‘shock’ to her client Miss A.
She told The Guardian: ‘No rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served. My client and I have just received the news that Assange has been arrested.
‘We will do all we can to get prosecutors to reopen the Swedish preliminary criminal investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and be prosecuted for rape.’
Prosecutor Marianne Ny dropped the investigation into Miss W’s rape allegation in May 2017, saying at the time there was no way to have Assange detained or charged within a ‘foreseeable future’.