Assange says rape probe a 'legal circus'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has called a Swedish investigation into rape and molestation allegations against him a "legal circus".

Assange, who is Australian, has denied the allegations, and said the investigations could hurt his chances of gaining a residency permit in Sweden, which he has seen as a safe haven for his controversial document-leaking website, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

In a video interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen on Thursday, Assange called the allegations, made by two Swedish women, "baseless and disturbing", the WSJ reported in an article posted on its website.

The rape case was dismissed last week by Eva Finne, chief prosecutor in Stockholm, who overruled a lower-ranked prosecutor and said there was no reason to suspect that Assange had raped a Swedish woman who had reported him to police.

The woman's lawyer appealed the decision, and Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny decided to reopen the case on Wednesday, saying new information had come in on Tuesday.

Ny also decided that another complaint against Assange should be investigated on suspicion of "sexual coercion and sexual molestation".

That overruled a previous decision to only investigate the case as "molestation", which is not a sex offence under Swedish law.

Assange has denied the allegations and suggested they are part of a smear campaign by opponents of WikiLeaks - an online whistle-blower that has angered Washington by publishing thousands of leaked documents about US military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange said in the Expressen interview he had had little opportunity to present his side of the story to Swedish officials, the WSJ reported.

"I am losing confidence in the Swedish justice system," he said.

Ny declined to say what new information she had received or whether Assange, who was questioned by investigators on Monday, would be arrested.

"We went through all the case material again, including what came in, and that's when I made my decision" to reopen the case, Ny told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The reopening of the rape investigation is the latest twist to a puzzling case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.

An arrest warrant issued on August 20 was withdrawn within 24 hours amid the back-and-forth between prosecutors.

Ny said "it's not entirely uncommon" that such reversals take place in Sweden, in particular regarding allegations of sex crimes.

Investigators have not released details about the two complaints against Assange, though a police report obtained by the AP shows both women had met Assange in connection with a seminar he gave in Stockholm on August 14.

The report shows the women filed their complaints together six days later.

"I haven't done anything with these two women that wasn't completely consensual from both sides," Assange was quoted as saying by the website of Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

"I am very upset," he said.

"And also worried about the Swedish justice system's lack of respect for people's integrity."

Assange is seeking legal protection for WikiLeaks in Sweden, one of the countries where the group says it has servers.

The Swedish Migration Board has confirmed that Assange has applied for a work and residence permit in the Scandinavian country.

In the video interview on Thursday, Assange said the investigations may "prevent that application going ahead", the WSJ reported.

He said that would prevent him from being named as WikiLeaks' official editor in Sweden, "although we will find a replacement if it comes to that", he added.

Assange, 39, a former hacker and computer programmer, was born in Queensland and educated at the University of Melbourne, but he now travels widely.

WikiLeaks, which was launched in 2007, made headlines around the world in July when it released tens of thousands of pages of secret US documents about Afghanistan.

- AAP