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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange SALVATORE DI NOLFI/AP/Press Association Images
Wikileaks
Swedish court issues arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange has been called for questioning in Sweden about rape allegations levelled at him – which he says are an attempt at a smear campaign.
SWEDEN HAS ISSUED an international arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in order to investigate rape claims made against him.
Assange had been detained in his absence “on probable cause suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion”, said Prosecutor Marianne Ny, who had requested the detention.
The case was first launched in August and Assange was arrested in absentia, however it was soon dismissed. The case has been reopened on appeal.
Assange’s lawyer Bjorn Hurtig said:
My client denies all charges, I think there is strong reason to question the judgment of the Swedish prosecution service, considering this case was closed earlier.
When he first learned of the accusations in August, Assange dismissed them as a smear campaign stunt. His website Wikileaks had 76,000 classified US military documents about the war in Afghanistan shortly before the claims surfaced.
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