Founder of WikiLeaks sought in Sweden on charges of molestation

LONDON — Julian Assange, the founder of the website WikiLeaks who has been embroiled in a fight with the Pentagon over the recent release of classified Afghan war documents, became the focus of new attention on Saturday when Swedish prosecutors sought him for questioning on allegations of rape and molestation — and then withdrew the rape allegation.

The prosecutor's office provided few details about the case against Assange, who denied the allegations. Nor did it say why it backtracked so quickly. Two Swedish newspapers said the allegations were made by two women who worked with WikiLeaks in Sweden, and the prosecutors told The Associated Press they were still looking into an accusation of molestation.

The episode provided a bizarre twist to Assange's already complicated tale. Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, has been locked in an increasingly bitter confrontation with the Obama administration since he posted about 77,000 classified Pentagon documents last month and began warning that he would soon release 15,000 more. The administration has hinted at possible criminal prosecutions in the case.

In his Twitter response on Saturday, Assange said the Swedish allegations were "without basis," adding: "We were warned to expect 'dirty tricks.' Now we have the first one."

Since the administration spoke about the possibility of prosecuting Assange, he has spent much of that time in Sweden, which has strong press freedom laws that he hoped would offer protection against legal actions.

Assange did not respond immediately to attempts by reporters for The New York Times to reach him by e-mail and telephone, and Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman for Sweden's national prosecutor's office, said in a telephone interview that the police did not know Assange's whereabouts.

Rosander initially confirmed that Assange was wanted for questioning on allegations of rape and molestation, and that an arrest warrant had been issued. But shortly after making that statement in a telephone interview, the prosecutor's office issued a statement on its website saying: Chief Prosecutor Eva Finne had now concluded that "Assange is not suspected of rape" and that the arrest warrant had been canceled. The website announcement said there would be no further details of the case released for the rest of the day. The AP later quoted Rosander as saying that the molestation allegations were being investigated. Telephone calls to the offices of Finne to confirm the AP report went unanswered.