It seems that Swedish prosecutors want to talk to Julian Assange who is still holed up in an Ecuadorian embassy.
The Wikileaks founder Assange skipped bail so that he did not have to be extradited to Sweden to face police questioning on sex charges.
Assange insisted that the whole case against him had been fabricated because the US government was desperate to extradite him to the US to face spying charges.
Assange denies all the sexual assault allegations against him. He has previously called on Swedish prosecutors to question him in London, either in person or via videolink. The Foreign Office said it would welcome this possibly, but prosecutors in Stockholm have argued against it as it is not normal practice.
Now it seems that Sweden has changed its mind and are asking to question Assange in London on allegations of sexual misconduct.
The prosecutor on the case, Marianne Ny, also said she wants to take a DNA sample from Assange.
We don’t think it is likely that Assange will agree to that. He is likely to come up with some excuse that if the Swedes have his DNA the US spooks could plant it in various crime scenes to force him to come to the US.
However one of Assange’s lawyers, Per Samuelson, has welcomed the offer. “This is something we’ve demanded for over four years,” he said.
“Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated.”
Last year, a Swedish court rejected an appeal by Assange to have his arrest warrant over sexual assault allegations revoked.
The British government says it has spent $10 million policing the embassy to ensure Assange does not flee the country.
