Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority were the set of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom concerning the requested extradition of Julian Assange to Sweden for a "preliminary investigation" into accusations of sexual offences allegedly made in August 2010. Assange left Sweden for the UK in 27 September 2010 and a warrant for his arrest was issued in his absence the same day. He was suspected of rape of a lesser degree, unlawful coercion and multiple cases of sexual molestation. In June 2012, Assange breached bail and sought refuge at Ecuador's Embassy in London and was granted asylum.
On 12 August 2015, Swedish prosecutors announced that the statute of limitations had expired for three of the allegations against Assange while he was in the Ecuadorian embassy. The investigation into the rape allegation was also dropped by Swedish authorities on 19 May 2017 because of Assange's asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy. Assange said in these proceedings that he feared he would ultimately be extradited to the United States if he were sent to Sweden.
In May 2019, the Swedish Prosecution Authority reopened the investigation against Assange. The prosecutors expressed the intent to extradite Assange from the United Kingdom after he served his 50-week prison sentence for skipping bail. In June 2019, the Uppsala District Court denied a request to detain Assange, thereby preventing his extradition to Sweden.
As of 19 November 2019, the prosecution dropped the case because "the evidence has weakened considerably due to the long period of time that has elapsed" although they stated that they were confident in the complainant.
Background and accusations On 11 August 2010, Julian Assange flew to Stockholm. According to the police report filed in response to a complaint by , she had arranged Assange's trip to Sweden and he stayed at her flat while she was out of town. She returned on 13 August and went out for a meal with Assange before returning to her flat with him. According to her account, which Assange disputes, he began pulling off her clothes. Ardin told police she didn't want to, "but that it was too late to stop Assange as she had gone along with it so far", and so she let him undress her. Ardin told police she realised he was trying to have unprotected sex with her, held her down and stopped her from reaching for a condom before agreeing to use it, but she said he had "done something" to it that made it rip, which he denied.
On 14 August, Assange spoke at a seminar organised by Ardin. "Miss W" met Assange at the seminar and had lunch with him, Ardin, the co-ordinator of the Swedish WikiLeaks group and a few others. Ardin had a party for Assange that evening and later said that "Julian is in many ways a fantastic person," but adding that "the Julian who took part in the [party] is totally different from the one who humiliated and abused me the previous evening." One of her friends, "Monica", later told police that during the party Ardin told her about the ripped condom and unprotected sex. Another friend told police that during the party Ardin described the sex she had with Assange: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent." The next day, Ardin told Monica she thought Assange had ripped the condom on purpose.
On 16 August, Miss W phoned Assange and arranged to meet him and go back to her flat outside Stockholm. She told police they started to have sex, but he didn't want to wear a condom and lost interest when she didn't want to have unprotected sex. Later that night they had consensual sex and "he agreed unwillingly to use a condom". Early the next morning, she awoke to discover him having sex with her, and when asked he said he wasn't wearing a condom. She contacted Assange and asked him to take a test for STDs, and he refused on the grounds that he did not have time.
After being allegedly sexually assaulted by Assange, she wanted to contact him to take a test for sexually transmitted infections. She contacted Ardin, the lecture organiser, to get help reaching Assange. When they spoke to each other, they realised they had both had a similar experience and decided to go to the police together to ask for advice.
On 18 August 2010, Assange applied for a work and residence permit in Sweden. Ardin later told police that that morning he exposed himself to her and rubbed against her, an act which Swedish authorities characterised as Assange having "deliberately molested" her.
Investigation and extradition process
Complaints and initial investigation
On 20 August 2010, Miss W and Anna Ardin, a 26-year-old living in Enköping and a 31-year-old living in Stockholm, reported to the Swedish police that Assange had engaged in unprotected sexual activity with them that violated the scope of their consent, and that one woman was asleep in one case. Before talking to the other woman and the police, Ardin did not consider all of Assange's actions to have been a crime. The police told them that they could not simply make Assange take an STD test, but that their statements would be passed to a prosecutor.
The next day, the case was transferred to (Chief Public Prosecutor) Eva Finné to lessen the burden on the duty prosecutors, which Swedish prosecutors do in serious crimes or high-profile matters. After learning of the investigation, Assange said, "The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing". The preliminary investigation concerning suspected rape was discontinued by Finné on 25 August and the investigation of the other allegations continued, but two days later Claes Borgström, the attorney representing the two women, requested a review of the prosecutor's decision to drop part of the investigation, a process common in Sweden. On 30 August, Assange was questioned by the Stockholm police regarding the alleged sexual molestation. He denied them, and said he had consensual sexual encounters with the two women.
Investigation reinstated On 1 September 2010, Överåklagare (Director of Public Prosecution) Marianne Ny decided to resume the preliminary investigation concerning all of the original allegations. On 27 September 2010 Assange left Sweden for UK and prosecutors informed his Swedish lawyer that an arrest warrant would be issued for Assange. Hurtig admitted that prosecutors had tried to interview Assange before he left Sweden with their permission. Assange was arrested in his absence the same day. This was the first step in the criminal prosecution procedure in Sweden, and only after the questioning would the prosecution authority be able to formally indict him.
Arrest warrant Assange told friends in London he was supposed to return to Stockholm for a police interview on 14 October, but that he had decided to stay away. On 18 October 2010, Assange's request for a Swedish residency permit was denied because his application failed to fulfill all the requirements. On 18 November 2010, Marianne Ny ordered the detention of Julian Assange on suspicion of rape, three cases of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. The Stockholm District Court acceded to the order and issued a European Arrest Warrant to execute it. The warrant was appealed to the Svea Court of Appeal which upheld it, but changed the order to suspicion of rape of a lesser degree, unlawful coercion and two cases of sexual molestation rather than three. The warrant was also appealed to the Supreme Court of Sweden, which decided not to hear the case.
On 30 November 2010, Interpol posted a Red Notice and put Assange on its most-wanted list.
Detention and bail Assange presented himself to and was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit at Scotland Yard on 7 December 2010, and was remanded to London's Wandsworth Prison. When he was arrested, he refused to cooperate with the standard British procedure of collecting photographs, fingerprints and DNA samples from people who are arrested. On 16 December, he was granted bail with conditions of residence at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, and wearing of an electronic tag. Bail was set at £240,000 surety with a deposit of £200,000 ($312,700).
On release on bail, Assange said "I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter," and told the BBC, "This has been a very successful smear campaign and a very wrong one." He claimed that the Swedish extradition proceedings were "actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the US." Swedish prosecutors denied that the case had anything to do with WikiLeaks.
Extradition hearing The extradition hearing took place on 7–8 and 11 February 2011 before the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court sitting at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London. Assange's lawyers at the extradition hearing were Geoffrey Robertson QC and Mark Stephens, human rights specialists, and the prosecution was represented by a team led by Clare Montgomery QC. Arguments were presented as to whether the Swedish prosecutor had the authority to issue a European Arrest Warrant, if the extradition was requested for prosecution or interrogation, if the alleged crimes qualified as extradition crimes, if there was an abuse of process, if his human rights would be respected, and he would receive a fair trial if extradited to Sweden.
On 24 February 2011 it was announced that the court upheld the extradition warrant. Senior District Judge Howard Riddle found against Assange on each of the main arguments against his extradition. The judge said "no evidence has been provided" the warrant was politically motivated and "as a matter of fact, and looking at all the circumstances in the round, this person (Mr Assange) passes the threshold of being an accused person and is wanted for prosecution." Judge Riddle concluded: "I am satisfied that the specified offences are extradition offences" and one of the allegations "would amount to rape" in the UK.
The judge was severely critical of Assange's Swedish lawyer, Björn Hurtig, for making untrue statements. Hurtig said it was a mistake, but Judge Riddle responded by saying "I do not accept that this was a genuine mistake. It cannot have slipped his mind. The statement was a deliberate attempt to mislead the court." Judge Riddle said the untruth in Hurtig's statement "fatally undermined" two other defence expert witnesses. Assange commented after the decision to extradite him, saying "It comes as no surprise but is nevertheless wrong. It comes as the result of a European arrest warrant system amok."
Appeal to the High Court On 2 March 2011, Assange's lawyers lodged an appeal with the High Court challenging the decision to extradite him to Sweden. Assange remained on conditional bail. The appeal hearing took place on 12 and 13 July 2011 at the High Court in London. Assange had a new legal team that argued his actions might be seen as "disrespectful, discourteous, disturbing" but that it was not illegal. The judges' decision was reserved, and a written judgment was delivered on 2 November 2011, dismissing the appeal. Assange was also ordered to pay £19,000 in costs.
Appeal to the Supreme Court On 5 December 2011, Assange was refused permission by the High Court to appeal to the Supreme Court but the High Court certified that his case raised a point of law of general public importance.