Swedish prosecutors have quickly withdrawn a warrant for the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that they say wrongly accused him of rape.
The 39-year-old Assange had been asked to turn himself into police, though Swedish authorities announced Saturday that they were reversing course.
"I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape," chief prosecutor Eva Finne said.
Assange is suspected of molestation in a separate case that remains active, prosecutors said. Finne did not comment on the status of this separate case, which would not trigger an arrest warrant.
After the rape allegations were reported by the Swedish tabloid Expressen, Assange posted a Twitter message indicating "the charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing."
His supporters suggest the unfounded allegations are a dirty trick designed to discredit the WikiLeaks organization, which intends to soon release 15,000 further classified documents that detail U.S. involvement in the Afghan war.
A WikiLeaks spokesperson told The Associated Press that the "extremely serious allegations" about Assange came as a complete surprise.
Assange is a nomadic individual who lives in many different locations, often moving from one friend's place to another. He has been known to go months without making public appearances.
His last public appearance was in Sweden last week, when Assange applied for a publishing certificate, so that WikiLeaks could potentially shield itself under Sweden's whistleblower laws. He also spoke at a seminar.
With files from The Associated Press
