LONDON -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no longer the subject of an active rape investigation in Sweden, but he remains holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London facing an unclear future because of uncertainty over whether American authorities will try to get him handed over next.
Sweden's top prosecutor dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange on Friday, saying there was no way to detain or charge him "in the foreseeable future" because of his protected status inside the embassy.
Prosecutor Marianne Ny said she could not judge whether the 45-year-old Australian native was guilty or innocent because the investigation had been thwarted. Ny said the case could be reopened if Assange comes to Sweden before the statute of limitations expires in 2020.
British police said they would arrest Assange if he leaves the embassy on a charge of jumping bail, but the more severe threat is a possible sealed U.S. indictment against him.
The WikiLeaks founder emerged Friday afternoon to address the media in the open air of the embassy's balcony. He said the day marked an "important victory," but noted that he still could be prosecuted by the United States.
Assange also lashed out at Sweden for taking seven years to investigate allegations he maintained were baseless. His children had grown up without him, he said.
"That is not something I can forgive, or forget," he said, claiming he had suffered a "terrible injustice" while living under house arrest or hidden away inside the embassy without ever being charged with a crime.
Despite the news from Sweden, police in London said Friday that Assange is still wanted there for jumping bail in 2012. More serious are the possible charges he faces in the United States for WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of pages of classified government documents.
Assange said his legal team would reach out to British authorities to try to find a way forward, and he said he would be "happy" to have a dialogue with the U.S. Department of Justice despite its threats against him.
WikiLeaks has repeatedly angered U.S. officials with the widespread release of secret documents related to military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and diplomatic relations around the world.
WikiLeaks also had a role in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign when it published emails written by Hillary Clinton's campaign officials.
U.S. and British officials Friday declined to say if the United States has requested Assange's extradition.
Ecuador's foreign minister, Guillaume Long, tweeted Friday that the U.K. "must now grant safe passage" to Assange. The South American country has granted him asylum, but it is not clear how Assange would travel there without the permission of British authorities.
Assange has spent nearly five years inside the Latin American country's London embassy, but he seemed robust and defiant in his brief balcony appearance. He did not take shouted questions from the reporters assembled outside and would not say if he plans to leave the embassy located in the Knightsbridge neighborhood.
The day began with the announcement in Sweden that the rape investigation was being suspended. But some experts said the development would put him in an even more precarious legal situation if the U.S. has a sealed indictment for his arrest.
British officials said they do not comment on individual extradition cases. British Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday that "any decision that is taken about U.K. action in relation to [Assange] would be an operational matter for the police."
WikiLeaks complained about the lack of clarity in Assange's legal situation.
"UK refuses to confirm or deny whether it has already received a US extradition warrant for Julian Assange. Focus now moves to UK," the group tweeted.
His supporters believe the sex crime allegations that have bedeviled Assange for years were politically motivated. They surfaced after the women accused Assange of sexual misconduct during a visit to Stockholm in 2010.
A lawyer for the woman who alleged she was raped by Assange said "it's a scandal that a suspected rapist can avoid the judicial system and thus avoid a trial in court."
Elisabeth Massi Fritz says her client is shocked by the Swedish decision but added that "she can't change her view that Assange has exposed her to a rape."
Assange has said the sex was consensual.
Information for this article was contributed by Jill Lawless, Eric Tucker and Jan M. Olsen of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/20/2017