Signs of progress in case of WikiLeaks founder Assange

Ecuador will allow Swedish prosecutors to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange within the confines of its embassy in London, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, in what could mark progress toward ending his four-year stay.

The office of Ecuador’s attorney general “notified the prosecutor of the kingdom of Sweden of its willingness to process the interrogation of Julian Assange at the embassy of Ecuador in London,” the external ministry said in a statement.

{mosads}Negotiations to decide on a date for the interview will be finalized “in the coming weeks,” the ministry added.

Assange has been cloistered within the walls of Ecuador’s London embassy since 2012, despite efforts by Swedish prosecutors to question him as part of a rape case. Assange has called the charges trumped up and has warned that he could be extradited to the U.S. on spying charges if he stepped foot outside of the Ecuadorian embassy.

The U.S. has not filed charges against the anti-secrecy advocate, though his supporters claim that espionage charges would be handed down if he were to be sent to Sweden.

Ecuador granted him asylum in 2012.

Its protection of Assange “shall continue while the circumstances that led to the granting of the asylum, particularly the fear of political persecution,” the foreign ministry said in its statement.

Assange had previously offered to be interviewed in the Ecuadorian Embassy, but Swedish authorities objected to the idea, saying that the interview needed to be conducted in Sweden.

In an interview with Radio Sweden, a lawyer for Assange suggested that the lengthy delay in prosecuting him would lead to the charges being dropped.

“It’s hard to imagine that any of the involved parties will have a clear memory of what happened six years ago,” Thomas Olsson said, according to The New York Times. “Another consequence of the delay is that several of the accusations are now barred due to the statute of limitations. We can’t see any other outcome for this investigation than that it be shut down.”

Assange has captured a key role in American politics in recent weeks, following WikiLeaks’ release of emails from Democratic National Committee (DNC) officials that appeared to show efforts to sideline Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and propel Hillary Clinton to the presidential nomination.

WikiLeaks has promised to release additional documents that could impact the U.S. presidential election and has also offered a $20,000 reward for information about the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich in Washington last month. Some have taken the offer to suggest a connection between Rich and WikiLeaks, adding to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories regarding his death.

“Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks,” Assange said in an interview on Dutch television this week. “As a 27 year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.

“I’m suggesting that our sources take risks.”