The Latest: WikiLeaks says Assange has chance to clear name

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Latest on Swedish prosecutors' decision whether to reopen a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

WikiLeaks' editor-in-chief says the Swedish decision to reopen a rape case against Julian Assange "will give Julian a chance to clear his name."

Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a statement Monday that Swedish prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson had been under "intense political pressure" to reopen the case. He also asserted that the case has been "mishandled" from the start.

Persson announced the Swedish decision a month after Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E. Samuelsen, said that his client is innocent and he doesn't understand the reasoning for reopening a 10-year-old case.

11:35 a.m.

Julian Assange's Swedish lawyer says he is "very surprised" by prosecutors' decision to reopen a rape case against the WikiLeaks founder and says that his client is innocent.

Prosecutors in Stockholm announced the decision on Monday, a month after Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. They said they would seek Assange's extradition from Britain.

Lawyer Per E. Samuelsen told Swedish broadcaster SVT: "I do not understand the Swedish prosecutor's ... reasoning for reopening a 10-year old case."

Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges against Assange in 2010.

Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired. That left a rape allegation, which couldn't be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy. The statute of limitations on that case expires in August 2020.

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11:25 a.m.

Swedish prosecutors say they will seek the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange after he has served his 50-week...