After the WikiLeaks founder was taken from the Ecuadoian embassy in London, Swedish prosecutors said they will consider whether to reopen an investigation into a 2010 allegation of rape.
Swedish authorities are clearly playing catchup. While it is clear that there was a degree of co-ordination between UK and US authorities — the US indictment was unsealed shortly after the Metropolitan Police announced Assange’s arrest — the Swedes knew nothing of it.
« This is news to us too… We also do not know why he is under arrest, » said Sweden’s Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren. « We are following the developments. »
Some commentators have expressed surprise that Sweden wasn’t given a heads up — after all, the reason Assange turned up at the Ecuadorian embassy on June 19,2012, was because he had lost his UK Supreme Court appeal against extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault and rape. « Serious question for the UK (and Ecuador) to answer: Why was Sweden not told before the arrest was made, » wrote the British legal commentator, David Allen Green, on Twitter.
Nevertheless, Sweden moved fast. By the end of Thursday, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson had been appointed to the case. « We will now examine the case in order to determine how to proceed, » she said in a statement. « The investigation has not yet been resumed, and we do not know today whether it will be.
