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Julian Assange to be interviewed by prosecutor and Swedish police at Ecuadorean embassy in London

DNA sample will also be taken if Mr Assange agrees to give consent

Monday 07 November 2016 09:57 GMT

Ecuador granted the WikiLeaks founder political asylum in 2012 (Reuters)

Julian Assange will be interviewed at the Ecuadorean embassy in London on Monday 14 November, the Swedish prosecutor has said.

The interview will be conducted by an Ecuadorean prosecutor and the Swedish deputy prosecutor in the case against the WikiLeaks founder and a Swedish police investigator will be allowed to attend the hearing.

A DNA sample will also be taken if Mr Assange agrees to give his consent.

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

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1/12Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Edward Snowden NSA leak

Articles in The Guardian revealed that the US and the UK spied on foreign leaders and diplomats at the 2009 G20 summit.

Reuters

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak

In 2009, former US soldier Chelsea Manning, downloaded hundreds of thousands of classified US Government documents, and passed them on to Jullian Assange's whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Among the documents were 250,000 State Department diplomatic cables. One disclosed the close relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the Guardian reported. Allegations included "lavish gifts", lucrative energy contracts and the use by Berlusconi of a "shadowy" Russian-speaking Italiango-between.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak: In a revelation which bruised the UK's 'special relationship' with the US, WikiLeaks published conversations by US commanders criticising Britain's military operations in Afghanistan.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak: One document disclosed startling levels of corruption in Afghanistan, including an incident involving the then vice-president, Ahmad Zia Massoud, who was reportedly stopped and questioned in Dubai when he flew into the emirate with $52m in cash.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak

Another cable documented fears in Washington over Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, in a volatile country with a strategic position in the Middle East.

PA

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

WikiLeaks' US diplomatic cables leak

Day four of the gradual drip of leaks exposed allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations, with one cable reporting that the relationship is so close that the country has become a "virtual mafia state".

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Edward Snowden NSA leak

In 2013, The Guardian published classified US National Security Agency (NSA) documents, from a then anonymous whistleblower. Four days later he was exposed as former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. A month after the initial leak, the New York Times allegeded that the NSA received emails, video clips, photos, voice and video calls, social networking details, logins and other data held by a range of US internet firms.

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Edward Snowden NSA leak

Since Snowden revealed that the US had eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone, German-US relations have been strained. In May 2014, Mrs Merkel said still had significant differences with the United States over surveillance practices and that it was too soon to return to “business as usual," according to the New York Times.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Edward Snowden NSA leak

On 7 June, The Guardian published the Presidential Policy Directive 20, whcih included a list of potential targets for cyber-attacks by the US Government.

Rex Features

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Samy Kamkar iPhone and Android exposé

In April 2014, hacker and researcher Samy Kamkar revealed that Android phones collect user location data every few seconds. Files are then transited to Google several times an hour.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Samy Kamkar iPhone and Android exposé

It is believed Apple and Google are using the data to better target adverts to smartphone users, according to The Guardian.

Getty Images

Whistleblowing controversies of the last decade

Samy Kamkar iPhone and Android exposé

The two companies have since justified the collection of data. In a letter to the US congress Apple confirmed it collected the data and said that, in order to be useful, "the databases [of tower and network locations] must be updated continuously". A Google spokesman told the Guardian Android phones explicitly asked to collect anonymous location data when users turned them on.

Getty Images

The results of the interview will later be reported from Ecuador to the Swedish prosecutors in a written statement," a statement from the Swedish Prosecution Authority said.

"After this report, the prosecutors will take a view on the continuation of the investigation."

It adds: "As the investigation is ongoing, it is subject to confidentiality."

"Therefore, the prosecutors cannot provide information concerning details of the investigation after the interview."

Mr Assange is under investigation by prosecutors for an alleged rape during his visit to Sweden in 2010.

He denies the rape allegation and has challenged Sweden's detention order several times.

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His request to leave the Ecuadorean embassy to attend the funeral of his friend and mentor Gavin MacFayden was recently blocked.

The Swedish prosecutor’s office announced it would not suspend the warrant as it does not allow exemptions to a court decision.

Mr Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy since June 2012, after exhausting all legal options in his battle against extradition to Sweden.

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