"Yes, technically, he was free to leave, but arguing that is ignoring the fact that leaving would mean jail."
Didn't it mean he would be free to stand trial for the rape allegations?
Do those women not have a right to have their case heard?
Didn't it mean he would be free to stand trial for the rape allegations?
Do those women not have a right to have their case heard?
No, there were never any charges filed against Julian Assange in Sweden. He was wanted for "questioning" by a Swedish prosecutor in a case that has now been entirely dropped due to a complete lack of substance. Assange's assertion was that this Swedish investigation was created entirely as a pretense to seize him and ship him to the United States for his activities as a publisher (an assertion that has proven to be true given his current status). There was nothing preventing the Swedish prosecutor from questioning Assange in the UK - they have traveled abroad to question subjects of other investigations in the past.
The Trump administration pushed the pedal on it.
And to think that Assange was scared as hell of Hillary Clinton, which actually would be a much better option for him now, imagine Hillary forgiving Assange, she had a lot to gain from it, Trump doesn't care, he just really doesn't.
Then again, such theories seem to have blossomed in the information age, so perhaps not.