Swedish prosecutors file request for Julian Assange's arrest

The Swedish state prosecutor investigating rape allegations against Julian Assange filed a request for him to be arrested, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. "I request the District Court to detain Assange in his absence, on probable cause suspected for rape," Swedish state prosecutor Eva-Marie Perrson said. "If the court decides to detain him, I will issue a European Arrest Warrant concerning surrender to Sweden." Swedish state prosecutor Eva-Marie Perrson announced last week that she planned to reopen an investigation into rape allegations against Assange.

Ecuador withdrew Assange's asylum in April which made reopening the investigation possible. Assange is currently serving jail time in the United Kingdom.

Assange is also charged in the United States with conspiracy to commit "computer intrusion" by helping former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning with "cracking a password" to access classified documents. “In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority," Perrson said.