Ecuador, Sweden Sign Deal Facilitating Assange's Interrogation

Ecuador and Sweden have sealed an agreement on legal assistance in criminal affairs, which noticeably facilitates the interrogation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – "The agreement, without any doubt, is a tool that strengthens bilateral relations and facilitates, for example, the execution of such legal actions as the questioning of Mr. Assange, isolated in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London," the ministry said in a statement.

The countries have been negotiating on this document since summer 2015 following the request of the Swedish authorities to the Ecuadorian Prosecutor's Office on Assange’s questioning in the Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom, where he was granted asylum.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities since 2010 on accusations of sexual coercion and rape. In April, he consented to the prosecutor’s conditions for the interrogation procedure.

The WikiLeaks founder argues that Sweden’s rape charges are a ploy to extradite him to the United States, where he is wanted for publishing thousands of leaked top-secret military documents and diplomatic cables.

Assange, an Australian national, launched the WikiLeaks website in 2006. Since then, the site has released millions of classified papers.