Ecuador agrees to let Sweden question Julian Assange over rape accusation

LONDON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Ecuador on Thursday agreed to allow Swedish authorities to question Julian Assange over sexual assault allegations at its embassy in London.

The Ecuadorian attorney general agreed to the request by the Swedish prosecutor. Assange, an Australian citizen, denies the charges, but fears going to Sweden to testify will lead to his extradition to the United States, where he could be charged with a number of espionage-related crimes. He sought asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in 2012, and has lived there since.

Assange's WikiLeaks website has published thousands of classified U.S. government documents since 2006, including a procedures manual from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay and more than 90,000 internal documents pertinent to the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. It has also published nearly 400,000 government records regarding the war in Iraq, including information on the deaths of Iraqi citizens and details on accusations of abuse by Iraq's police and army.

Last month it disclosed confidential emails and voicemails of the Democratic National Committee. While some in the United States argue in favor of the death penalty for Assange, there are currently no charges filed against him in the United States.

The Ecuadorian statement did not mention a date for Assange's questioning by Swedish authorities.