Swedish attempt to extradite Assange is blocked

Ruling prevents prosecutors from applying for warrant over 2010 rape allegation

A Swedish court has rejected a request to detain Julian Assange in absentia, which means the nation's prosecutor will not immediately request his extradition from Britain.

The WikiLeaks co-founder claimed political asylum in London's Ecuadorean embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over a 2010 rape allegation, which he has repeatedly denied.

The Australian, who is in jail for breaching United Kingdom bail conditions, is also facing extradition to the United States on federal conspiracy charges related to leaks of government secrets.

Swedish Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson told Uppsala District Court that Assange had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden.

The ruling by the district court prevents Swedish prosecutors from applying immediately for an extradition warrant for Assange to face the allegation of rape.

"As Julian Assange is currently serving a prison sentence, the investigation can proceed with the help of a European investigation order, which does not require Julian Assange's detention (in Sweden). The court therefore does not find it proportional to detain Julian Assange," the judgment said.

Detention in a person's absence is a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located, and which would be the first step to having him extradited from Britain.

Assange's Swedish defense lawyer, Per Samuelson, argued that Assange's imprisonment in Britain meant there was no flight risk. "He is in prison for half a year at least, and he is detained on behalf of the United States. So there is no point detaining him in Sweden too," Samuelson said.

He added that it was not proportionate to ask for someone's detention merely to conduct a questioning session. The court agreed with the defense, saying the prosecutor would be able to continue the investigation regardless.

"I fully respect the court's decision. They had to take a position on a difficult assessment issue, which I considered should be examined by a court," said Persson, in a statement on Monday.

"The investigation continues with interviews in Sweden. I will also issue a European investigation order in order to interview Julian Assange. No date has been set yet. We will constantly review the state of the investigation."

Should Sweden allow an extradition request, it would be up to the UK where he would eventually be sent as it would compete with an extradition request from the US, where he is facing a total of 18 charges, most of which relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information over the publishing of military documents and diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks.

The US Justice Department has decided not to charge Julian Assange for his role in exposing some of the CIA's most secret spying tools, deciding instead to pursue one count of allegedly assisting former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning and a 17-count Espionage Act indictment.