WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been locked up for seven years in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012 after jumping bail. He insisted that the rape case was just a cunning American plan to get him arrested and extradited to the US.

It is not clear where he will stand regarding the UK authorities as there is a small matter of a contempt of court charge. If he leaves the embassy, the UK coppers could and should arrest him to discourage other bail jumpers thinking they are too good for the legal system.

It is also unclear if the people who claim to be his victims will pursue a civil case against him

However as far as the Swedes are concerned, Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange.

The government of Ecuador wrote to the Swedes upset about the "serious lack of progress" by the Swedish authorities in dealing with Mr Assange.

A letter has been sent to the Swedish government saying there has been a "serious failure" by the country's prosecutor, including a "lack of initiative" to complete inquiries.

What appears to have happened is that the Swedes have decided it is all not really worth it.  If Assange ever did end up in Sweden for questioning, the court would probably factor into the fact that he has been locked up in an embassy for considerably longer than they would jail him for. 

According to the New York Times, the US Justice Department was also reconsidering its own charges against Mr Assange, linked to his decision to leak highly classified information which it said posed a major threat to national security.

An unnamed official told the New York Times that prosecutors were sceptical as to whether they could pursue the most serious charge of espionage.