Europe

Swedish Prosecutor Files Detention Order for WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

WANTED MAN

If granted, WikiLeaks founder will be subject to extradition after he finishes 50-week prison term for skipping bail in Britain.

GettyImages-1140452079_l74xsx
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

A prosecutor in Sweden on Monday filed a detention order for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. If granted, the order, which is related to a rape charge, means that Assange will be subject to extradition to Sweden after he finishes serving a 50-week sentence for skipping bail in the United Kingdom. Sweden officially reopened the rape case, which dates back to allegations from 2010, last week. Meanwhile, the whistleblower’s possessions from the Ecuadorian embassy where he spent seven years to avoid prosecution will be handed over to U.S. officials investigating separate charges related to the publication of secret documents. The U.S. has also filed an extradition order for Assange after he finishes serving time. It will be for the U.K. courts to decide whether the U.S. or Swedish case takes precedence.

Read it at Reuters

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.