Sweden’s former ambassador to China has been indicted with arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power. The prosecutor will be available to the media on telephone this afternoon.

The ambassador is suspected of having acted outside the bounds of the authority granted to her during a meeting on a consular matter regarding the Swedish citizen Gui Minhai who is currently imprisoned in China. At that meeting, the ambassador was in contact with persons representing the interests of the Chinese State.  “An ambassador is the head of a public authority with a far-reaching mandate to represent Sweden; nonetheless, even ambassadors must adhere to certain guidelines and instructions issued by the Government Offices of Sweden and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In this specific consular matter, she has exceeded her mandate and has therefore rendered herself criminally liable,” says Hans Ihrman, Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor at the National Security Unit. “A charge of arbitrariness during negotiations with a foreign power is unprecedented in modern times,” says Hans Ihrman. An investigation was launched on 14 February 2019 after the Swedish Security Service filed a criminal complaint.   Case number at Stockholm District Court: B 3911-19.   Contact  Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hans Ihrman is available for brief conversations to the media today, Monday, by telephone between 14:00-15:00 on +46 (0)10-562 53 85. The prosecutor will not be available at any other time than that stated above in connection with bringing this prosecution.   Press Service, +46 10 562 50 20

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding Julian Assange. The reason for this decision is that the evidence has weakened considerably due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question.

The preliminary investigation concerning allegations against Julian Assange was resumed on 13 May 2019 after Assange left the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The investigation relates to a suspected rape committed in August 2010. A number of investigative measures have been conducted since May, largely in the form of witness interviews. The preliminary investigation has now been discontinued, the motive for which is that the evidence has weakened considerably due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question. "I would like to emphasise that the injured party has submitted a credible and reliable version of events. Her statements have been coherent, extensive and detailed; however, my overall assessment is that the evidential situation has been weakened to such an extent that that there is no longer any reason to continue the investigation," says Eva-Marie Persson, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution. Background In 2010, being suspected of committing sexual offences in Sweden, Julian Assange fled to the United Kingdom, eventually taking up residency in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he remained from 19 June 2012 until 11 April 2019. In 2017, the public prosecutor responsible for the case at that time discontinued the investigation, as the prosecutor had exhausted all possibilities to make progress. After Assange’s removal from the embassy in spring 2019, the investigation was reopened at the request of the counsel for the injured party in Sweden.   Translation of the prosecutor's decision (pdf). Chronology of the case (link). Case number at Uppsala District Court: B 3167-19.   Press Service, +46 10 562 50 20

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson will hold a press conference on the Assange case on 19 November 2019.

On 11 April 2019, the counsel for the injured party requested the Swedish preliminary investigation concerning rape to be resumed. The case has been handled by Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson at the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s Development Centre in Gothenburg. At the press conference, the prosecutor will inform about the investigative measures taken and provide new information. The press conference will take place 19 November at 2 pm, at Folkets Hus, Barnhusgatan 12-14, Stockholm, room 300. Entrance no earlier than 1:30 pm. Please note only accredited journalists can attend. Bring your press ID or certificate from editorial staff. Sign up at [email protected] by 19 November at 8 am at the latest. The prosecutor’s presentation will be interpreted from Swedish to English. There will be opportunities for group interviews after the presentation. Questions will also be interpreted from Swedish to English, and vice versa, if needed. For further information about the case, see https://www.aklagare.se/en/news-and-press/media/the-assange-matter/ Contact  Press Service, +46 10 562 50 20 Press Manager Annika Collin, +46 10 562 50 15 Press Officer Anna Knöfel Magnusson, +46 10 562 51 99

An Iranian citizen has today been detained by Stockholm District Court, on probable cause suspected of crime in Iran against international law, gross crime, and murder during the period of 28 July – 31 August 1988 in Teheran, Iran.

The prosecutor responsible for the investigation is Senior Public Prosecutor Karolina Wieslander at the National Unit Against Organised Crime. On 11 December, at the latest, the prosecutor needs to decide whether or not to indict the person in question.   Case number in Stockholm District Court: B 15255-19.     Press Service +46 10 562 50 20

A 46-year-old Swedish-Iraqi citizen has today been prosecuted for refugee espionage at Stockholm District Court. The prosecutor is available to the media.

The man is indicted for, during the period April 2015 to February 2019, collecting personal information about opposition Iranians belonging to the Ahwazi community with the intention of conveying the information to the government of Iran. “I have prosecuted the man for, under cover of representing an Arabic evening paper, having photographed and filmed Ahwazi conference delegates and demonstration participants in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. He is also claimed to have infiltrated Ahwazi fora on the internet and thus obtained opposition persons’ addresses and telephone numbers,” says Senior Public Prosecutor Hans-Jörgen Hanström. The man is also prosecuted for having photographed car registration plates and log-on information for routers, during home visits. The prosecutor states that part of the information has been conveyed to representatives of the Iranian intelligence service via the internet or at personal meetings, including in Teheran. The man who has been prosecuted denies the offence. The preliminary investigation report is quite extensive, some 1,700 pages, and parts of it is confidential. The preliminary investigation was performed by the National Security Unit at The Swedish Prosecution Authority and the Swedish Security Service. Crime classification: Illegal intelligence activities against persons, serious offence. Proceedings in the district court are estimated to take nine days. Case number at Stockholm District Court: B 2890-19. Contact: Senior Public Prosecutor, Hans-Jörgen Hanström, is available to the media today Wednesday from 1pm to 3pm on +46 (0)10 562 53 85.       Press Service +46 10 562 50 20

Director of Public Prosecution Mikael Björk provides a brief case update on the preliminary investigation concerning the two patients, now deceased, who had a synthetic trachea surgically implanted.

On 11 December 2018, Director of Public Prosecution Mikael Björk took the decision to reopen a discontinued preliminary investigation concerning a surgeon previously employed at Karolinska University Hospital. The suspected crime was a gross offence of causing bodily harm. The preliminary investigation is still underway and has taken longer than expected. During the course of the resumed preliminary investigation, investigative measures have been taken both in Sweden and abroad. About 20 interviews have been carried out and additional interviews of, for example, the suspected surgeon are to be conducted. “The material in the preliminary investigation is very extensive. The final serving to the surgeon and his public counsel is going to take a long time and therefore this process has already commenced even though not all investigative measures have yet been taken. At the moment, it is too early to say when a decision regarding the charge can be taken since it depends on the result of the remaining investigative measures. Our aim is that a decision can be made during the first quarter of next year,” says Director of Public Prosecutions Mikael Björk. Director of Public Prosecution Mikael Björk is not available to the media. Any new information will be made public via a press release.   Press Service +46 10 562 50 20

Over the course of the summer, a total of seven witness interviews have been conducted as part of the investigation concerning Julian Assange. An analysis of this material is now underway, after which the public prosecutor will decide how to proceed with the case.

Assange is suspected of committing a rape in 2010. The investigation was reopened on 13 May 2019. “During the summer, we have conducted interviews intended to verify the evidence, as nine years have passed since the suspected crime. We have concentrated on the inquiries possible to conduct here in Sweden. The interviews are now being transcribed and analysed. We have mainly re-interviewed those individuals who were interviewed in 2010, although two of the persons interviewed have not previously been interviewed,” says Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson. What happens now? “Once we have analysed the interviews, I will decide how to proceed with the case. The investigation may then be discontinued or I may decide to conduct further inquiries. If I make the assessment that the next step is to interview Julian Assange, I will issue a European Investigation Order, in which case I shall write to the British authorities with a request to conduct an interview,” says Eva-Marie Persson. Once the prosecutor has reached a decision, this will be communicated via a press release. The limitation period expires on 20 August 2020. If a prosecution is commenced before that date, the period of limitation will be extended on condition that Assange is served with a summons before 20 August 2020. Contact Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson is not available to the media today, Monday.      Press Service +46 10 562 50 20

Public prosecutor Daniel Suneson has decided not to appeal the verdict of Stockholm District Court imposing conditional sentences for assault on an American artist and two other individuals.

 “I have accepted the District Court’s evaluation of the evidence, in as much as the use of whole or broken bottles during the assault has not been proven. In my opinion, the criminal act has a somewhat higher penal value than the two months decided by the District Court; however, after due consideration, I have chosen not to appeal the verdict. All three defendants have in fact been brought to justice for assault and the District Court has dismissed the plea of self-defence, something that I believe was important to clarify in this particular case,” says public prosecutor Daniel Suneson. The assault in question took place in Stockholm on 30 June and three men were remanded in custody on 5 July on suspicion of having committed the crime. All three were released from custody on the conclusion of the trial. On 14 August, they were given conditional sentences for assault by the District Court. Link to press release from the Stockholm District Court. Stockholm District Court, Case No. B 9283-19 The public prosecutor is available to the media today, Tuesday, from 9:00 until 10:30 on +46 (0)10 562 55 93.    Press Service +46 10 562 50 20

The artist, and two men in his company, were prosecuted for assault. Stockholm District Court will give judgment in the case on Wednesday 14 August at 14.00. The prosecutor will be available after the judgment has been announced.

The three men are suspected of committing assault of a 19-year-old man in central Stockholm on 30 June. After the trial was concluded on 2 August, the men were released from custody by Stockholm District Court. The court will issue the judgement on 14 August at 14.00. Senior Public Prosecutor Daniel Suneson is available per telephone after the judgment has been issued. Case number at Stockholm District Court: B 9283-19 Contact: Senior Public Prosecutor Daniel Suneson, City Public Prosecution Office, Stockholm, +46 10 562 55 93. Available to the media on 14 August at 15.00-16.30. Press Service: +46 10 562 50 20

The three individuals held on remand since 5 July on suspicion of committing an assault in central Stockholm have been charged today. One of the individuals concerned is an American artist. The main hearing will start on Tuesday 30 July. The prosecutor will be available via telephone to the media after the main hearing is over.

Stockholm District Court, Case No. B 9283-19 Information concerning the schedule, see link to Stockholm District Court Contact After the last day of the trial, public prosecutor Daniel Suneson will be available via telephone.   Press Service +46 10 562 50 20