Charges against Wikileaks founder to expire

Swedish prosecutors are to drop three allegations of sexual offences against 44-year-old Julian Assange because of the five-year statute of limitations, a prosecution spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The Australian, who denies any wrongdoing, has long said he fears Sweden may extradite him to the United States, where he could face trial over Wikileaks' publication of huge amounts of leaked classified US military and diplomatic documents.

Under diplomatic protection

Assange - who escaped a Swedish arrest warrant by taking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012 - is wanted on two allegations of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion, which expire by August 18 unless he is formally charged. A fourth allegation of rape is valid until 2020.

He denies the charges and says the criminal cases are politically motivated.

The expired sex crime allegations mean that one of the two women who made them will soon drop out of the legal process. She has a "mixed" reaction to that, her attorney Claes Borgstrom told the dpa news agency.

"While she feels that he should have been brought to justice, it is at the same time a relief to get away from the events that took place five years ago," Borgstrom said. "She lives a normal life, and would rather not be reminded. There is some relief that this will be dropped."

Sweden, Ecuador attempt to break deadlock

In Stockholm, Justice Ministry spokeswoman Cecilia Riddselius says Sweden and Ecuador have agreed to start talks on an agreement of mutual legal assistance, but that it was unclear if they could open the possibility of questioning Assange, who remains holed up inside the embassy.

"Normally, these kinds of negotiations simply take time. This is nothing you do in a hurry," Riddselius told the Reuters news agency.

Thomas Olsson, a defense attorney representing Assange, said that if the three cases are dropped "it will not change anything" as the arrest warrant remains in force.

"I believe the case should have been closed long ago because the evidence is weak," Olsson told Reuters.

Wikileaks courts another controversy

Meanwhile, the whistleblowing website has launched a campaign to raise 100,000 euros ($110,269 dollars) that would be used as a reward for leaked details of a free trade deal being negotiated between the United States and the European Union.

"It remains secret almost in its entirety, closely guarded by the negotiators," Wikileaks wrote in an online post. "Today Wikileaks is taking steps to ensure that Europeans can finally read the monster trade deal."

A spokesman for the the European Commission has called the trade negations "the most transparent trade negotiations ever" and says it has published proposals in the talks over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Proponents say TTIP will significantly boost economic growth and help employment, but critics say it will water down consumer protection laws and allow corporations to challenge regulations over health, safety and the environment.

"The secrecy of the TTIP casts a shadow on the future of European democracy," Assange said in a statement.

jar/gsw (AP, Reuters, dpa)