By Tim Hume
WASHINGTON — (CNN) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has given a statement in the presence of a Swedish prosecutor regarding allegations he sexually assaulted two women in the country six years ago, WikiLeaks tweeted Monday.
The questioning took place in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where the 45-year-old Australian has been holed up since 2012.
“After UN & court findings condemning 6 years of abuses by Sweden against Assange, Sweden finally takes his statement for the first time ever,” the official WikiLeaks account tweeted.
Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange in August 2010, based on allegations of sexual assault by two female WikiLeaks volunteers in Sweden, and have sought his extradition for years. Assange has denied the allegations.
Ecuador granted Assange political asylum after he said he feared extradition to Sweden could lead to another extradition to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.
Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren arrived at the embassy Monday to attend the questioning, which was to be carried out by an Ecuadorian prosecutor, with a Swedish police investigator also present.
This year, Assange’s legal team has intensified its calls for Sweden to adhere to a non-binding opinion by the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention, which stated in February that his confinement in the embassy should be considered as arbitrary detention enforced by Sweden and Britain.
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