Sweden reopens rape investigation into Julian Assange as US tries to extradite him for hacking

Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London on May 1, 2019.

Swedish prosecutors have decided to reopen a rape investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as he faces 50 weeks in a UK prison and the US has requested his extradition.

Eva-Marie Persson, the lead prosecutor in the case, announced the decision on Monday morning.

It comes as the US seeks to extradite him over charges of hacking a government computer in connection with WikiLeaks.

Swedish prosecutors opened a sexual assault investigation into Assange in August 2010, and in 2012 the UK ruled the he should be extradited to Sweden to face questioning. He is accused of rape and molestation.

Assange has consistently denied the allegations, and in June 2012 moved into Ecuador's embassy in London as a political asylum seeker.

Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation into Assange in August 2015, saying that they could not pursue the case while he was in the Ecuadorean embassy.

US prosecutors requested Assange's extradition last month Ecuador revoked his asylum, and Assange was arrested and forcibly removed from the embassy. He is now living in a high-security prison in southeast London.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.