Arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder withdrawn

STOCKHOLM – Swedish prosecutors withdrew an arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks yesterday, saying less than a day after the document was issued that it was based on an unfounded accusation of rape.They said that for the moment Julian Assange remained suspected of the lesser crime of molestation in a separate case.The accusations have been labelled a dirty trick by Julian Assange and his group, who are preparing to release a fresh batch of classified United States documents from the Afghan war.Swedish prosecutors had urged Assange – a nomadic 39-year-old Australian whose whereabouts were unclear – to turn himself in to police to face questioning in the case involving suspicions of rape and the other based on an accusation of molestation.“I don’t think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape,” chief prosecutor Eva Finne said, in announcing the withdrawal of the warrant.Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority, said Assange remained suspected of molestation. (AP)