Julian Assange to be cleared of sexual assault claims as they near five-year expiry date

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is all set to be cleared of sexual assault claims, unless something unexpected happens, as the allegations reach their expiry date next week. The sexual assault charges will complete its five-year limitation period on August 18.

Assange, who hasn’t come out of Ecuador’s London embassy for more than three years to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is facing the allegations since 2010, has denied such claims throughout. In Ecuadorian embassy, his expenses, which are covered from the taxpayers’ fund, amount to £12 million [AU$25.73 million].

Under Sweden’s statute of limitations, three out of the four claims of sexual assaults will expire on completing five years next week. Meanwhile, the remaining claim is believed to expire within another five years.

Swedish prosecutors told the Times that Assange, who is 44 now, will be cleared of the charges for which he’s been hiding for so long. However, he suspects that he might be extradited to U.S. on charges of leaking large amount of sensitive data.

Hugo Swire, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister, said the situation was highly unwelcomed and could be proven costly. On the other hand, the Guardian reported that Swedish prosecutors have been negotiating with Ecuador in all possibility to conduct an interview with Assange and in a bid to end the standoff between the two countries that existed since Ecuador had given Assange the permission to seek refuge in their embassy.

Meanwhile, the British government has gone impatient with the delay of the interview and was irked by the failure to get hold of Assange, which has put a strain on the country’s resources by costing more than £9 million [AU$19 million] for policing the embassy.

“We are frustrated that the interview has not yet taken place,” Swire said.

Sweden’s justice ministry said it was happy with Ecuador’s acceptance of its offer of negotiations but it could take more than a few days to articulate the negotiations as the officials of the ministry are on holiday.

In August 2010, Swedish Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant against Assange. Karin Rosander, head of communications, said that there were two separate allegations registered -- one of rape and one of molestation.
Both women reportedly say that what started as consensual sex became non-consensual. However, Wikileaks quoted Assange saying the accusations were "without basis" and deeply disturbing.

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