WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange began the day as a wanted man — and ended it as an unwanted one who claimed he was the victim of a “dirty trick.”
Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant late Friday for rape for Assange, who has published 76,000 classified Pentagon documents on the war in Afghanistan.
The charges came shortly after sources said the feds were looking to bring possible criminal charges against Assange for his leaking activities.
The Web master thought that the timing of the rape probe was suspicious, especially since the warrant was rescinded within 24 hours without detailing why.
“The charges are without basis, and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing,” Assange posted on Twitter.
“We were warned to expect ‘dirty tricks,’ ” said Assange who plans to release an additional 15,000 secret papers on the war in Afghanistan.
Swedish prosecutor Eva Finne did not expand on the reasons why authorities quickly revoked the warrant for the controversial leaker.
“I don’t think there is reason to suspect that he committed rape,” she said.
Assange said the accusation was an attempt to discredit him.
But the dismissal of charges won’t necessarily end the allegations against Assange.
The Australian national, who was in Sweden to seek international protection for his site under press-freedom laws, might still face a separate molestation charge that does not require an arrest warrant.
Molestation in Sweden can cover inappropriate physical contact as well as other possible offenses, and carries a penalty of up to one year in jail.
It wasn’t known exactly where Assange was yesterday.
But he immediately took to the Web to defend his reputation and called the rape claims, brought against him by two Stockholm women, baseless and part of a smear campaign.
His Twitter message included a link to Expressen, a Swedish tabloid, which splashed a story about the rape claims on its pages.
The tabloid said authorities issued the warrant against the 39-year-old WikiLeaks founder after the women — whose ages were between 20 and 30 — told cops Assange forced himself on them during separate incidents last week. The women were both friends.
The two feared Assange’s power, and were afraid to press charges, the Swedish paper said.
Assange continued to comment on his Twitter feed.
“No one here has been contacted by Swedish police,” he wrote yesterday. “Needless to say, this will prove hugely distracting.”
On its official blog, WikiLeaks expressed “full support” for Assange and said it “will be continuing its regular operations.”
The Pentagon has demanded WikiLeaks remove all leaked documents from the Internet, and says they put Afghan civilian informants in jeopardy.