Swedish prosecutors yesterday issued a formal request to hold Julian Assange, currently imprisoned in Britain, on suspicion of rape - a first step towards seeking his extradition to Sweden. Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, said in a statement she had filed a request with the Uppsala district court to have Assange detained in his absence on suspicion of rape. Detaining someone in their absence is a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located.

The request follows last week’s reopening of a 2010 rape investigation, and Persson added that once the court had granted the request, she would then ask British authorities to transfer Assange to Sweden.