A UK tribunal has refused to release key details on communications between British and Swedish authorities over Julian Assange, in an effort to protect the Crown Prosecution Service’s relationship with foreign authorities.
An Italian investigative journalist’s attempt to pull back the shroud covering the long-running Assange case, which involves four nations and at least two government prosecution agencies, ended in failure earlier this month.
Stefania Maurizi, of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, had her appeal to the UK First-tier Tribunal to obtain documents held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in London dismissed on December 12. Maurizi had sought access to the full correspondence between the UK’s CPS and the Swedish Prosecution Authority (SPA). The reporter has been trying to get a hold of the documents for two years.
The quest for further information could have also potentially uncovered any dealings between the UK, Sweden, the US and Ecuador – the latter being the nation in which Assange has sought asylum. It may have also finally addressed Assange’s fears that extradition to Sweden could ultimately pave the way for rendition to the US.
Following sexual allegations deriving from a visit to Sweden in August 2010, Assange lost an appeal over his extradition to the Scandinavian nation. Assange, who denies the allegations, subsequently claimed diplomatic asylum in London’s Ecuadorian embassy, where he has remained for more than five years.
The case, which Swedish prosecutors have since “discontinued,” resulted in Assange being “arbitrarily detained” in the building, according to the UN.