Swedish prosecutors on Friday dropped a preliminary probe into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, bringing to an end a seven-year legal standoff.
The announcement came after a letter sent to the Swedish government by the government of Ecuador saying there had been a "serious failure" by the prosecutor, including a "lack of initiative" to complete inquiries.
“Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange,” the prosecutors office said in a statement.
Assange has been living in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden. He fears if he went to Sweden he could face extradition to the US over WikiLeaks’ release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
