Ecuador Thwarted Deal Between Julian Assange And Swedish Prosecutors

The government of Ecuador scuppered a deal this summer between Julian Assange and Swedish prosecutors that could have ended their three-year standoff over rape allegations, leaked documents show.

Assange and the Swedish director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, had apparently agreed that prosecutors could take DNA swabs and interview Assange on two days in June, but the meetings never took place because Ecuador raised numerous additional conditions or concerns.

The revelations also show Sweden casting private doubt on Ecuador’s public pronouncements that it is seeking to solve the long-running diplomatic impasse its asylum offer to Assange has caused, and raise questions as to its reasons for stalling such a deal....

...Ecuador, however, proved less willing to help than Ny expected. Internal emails discussing the country’s formal response to Sweden show the country throwing up a series of barriers against enabling the interview to take place, with advisers suggesting it was important the country was seen to win the diplomatic tussle and for Sweden to acknowledge Assange’s asylum status – neither Sweden nor the UK legally acknowledge diplomatic asylum.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamesball/revealed-ecuador-thwarted-deal-between-julian-assange-and-sw?utm_term=.wyvmvz9zq#.qbVl3dXd0