Swedish prosecutors say the rape investigation against Julian Assange could resume following his eviction from the Ecuadorian embassy today.

The rape case against the WikiLeaks founder was dropped in 2017, but the alleged victim's lawyer said she will 'do all we can' to reopen the investigation.

The Swedish prosecutors office confirmed today that they will look into resuming the rape investigation and it will be handled by prosecutor Mikael Björk in Gothenburg.

Investigators said the statute of limitations on the rape case has not yet passed and in Assange's can be reopened at any point until mid-August next year.

Prosecutors said today they will now 'examine the case in order to determine how to proceed' and could reopen the file after his arrest in London.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution, Eva-Marie Persson said: 'The investigation has not yet been resumed, and we do not know today whether it will be.

'Furthermore, we cannot set a timetable for when any such decision will be made. A preliminary investigation can be resumed as long as the suspected crime is not subject to statute of limitation.

The Lawyer of Assange's alleged rape victim says 'we will do all we can to make prosecutors reopen investigation'

The lawyer acting for the woman accusing the WikiLeaks founder of rape (left) has been pushing to reopen the case with Swedish prosecutors. The allegations by the woman who said she was sexually assaulted (right) by Assange were dropped in 2017

Julian Assange pictured as he is led out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in handcuffs following his arrest by British police today

'In this case, the suspected crime of rape would be subject to statute of limitation in mid-August 2020.

The statement added that the prosecutor cannot give further information at the moment.

The alleged victim's lawyer, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, said her client had been waiting for his eviction from the embassy, where he had been holed-up for seven years, and was in 'shock'.

She said in a press statement: 'That what we have been waiting for and hoping for almost seven years now, of course, comes as a shock to my client.

'We will do everything we can to ensure that the prosecutors resume the Swedish preliminary investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape.'

It comes as the alleged victim in a separate sexual assault case against Assange said earlier today that she would be 'disappointed' if he was extradited to the US.

The unnamed woman, whose case was dropped in 2015, has spoken out for the first time in 10 years in the wake of the Wikileaks founder's arrest today.

Nine years ago an arrest warrant was issued for Assange for two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation, after he visited Sweden for a speaking trip.

The alleged victim has even volunteered to rescue the cat which Assange kept at the Ecuadoran embassy in London

Assange ended up in Ecuador's embassy in London after requesting political asylum when he failed in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden.

In 2015 Swedish prosecutors announced they were dropping investigations into three of the allegations of sexual assault due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Sweden's top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange in May 2017, which he has always denied.

Sweden's director of public prosecutions Marianne Ny said there was no way to have Assange detained or charged because of his protected status inside the embassy.

But she stressed the probe could be reopened if Assange returned to Sweden before the statute of limitations on the rape allegation against him ends in August 2020.

The alleged sexual assault victim today told Expressen: 'After 10 years, I'm ready to make a statement.

'I would be very surprised and disappointed if Julian is handed over to the US.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured in May 2017) came under intense scrutiny after the website began releasing hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables

A police van sits outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum

'For me, it was never about anything other than his harassment of me or other women and his refusal to take responsibility for that. It's a shame that my case was never investigated properly.'

Speaking of the cat Assange kept at the embassy until last year, she said: 'I can rescue the cat.'

Elisabeth Fritz, the lawyer for the unnamed woman of the alleged rape, said she would 'do all we can to make prosecutors reopen investigation' that was halted in 2017.

She added: 'My client and I have just received the news that Assange has been arrested.

'The fact that what we have been waiting and hoping for for nearly seven years is now happening, of course, comes as a shock to my client.

'We will do all we can to get prosecutors to reopen the Swedish preliminary criminal investigation so that Assange can be extradited to Sweden and be prosecuted for rape.'

She added: 'No rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served.'

Assange was arrested by British police today after Ecuador dramatically withdrew political asylum seven years after he was given refuge in the country's London embassy.

The 47-year-old has not left Ecuador's diplomatic soil since 2012, when the country offered diplomatic protection from allegations of sexual assault and rape in Sweden.

Julian Assange (pictured bottom left) as he is arrested by police after being ejected from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London

While the case was eventually dropped, Assange has always feared extradition to the US where his lawyers have claimed he could face the death penalty for the leaking of highly-classified documents.

An international warrant for arrest was issued on November 18 2010 for Assange on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion - which he denies.

He has since lived inside the embassy in Knightsbridge for seven years when Swedish authorities requested his extradition as a suspect in the rape case.

A year into his time at the embassy, Assange told journalists he would not leave even if the sex charges against him were dropped, due to fears he would be extradited to the US for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks.

In 2015, investigations into the sex allegations were dropped because Swedish authorities ran out of time to question him - but the case of suspected rape remained open.

A senior Swedish prosecutor interviewed Assange a year later over the course of two days over the allegations of rape.

But in 2017, Swedish authorities suddenly dropped the rape allegations.

The Wikileaks founder was dragged head-first in handcuffs today by a group of seven men today as stunned supporters and protesters watched on in central London as he screamed out 'the UK must resist'.

Assange, who has overseen the publication of thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks, is currently in custody and is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court 'as soon as possible'.

The Wikileaks founder was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in handcuffs by a large group of Metropolian Police officers as stunned supporters and protesters watched on in central London

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said the decision to withdraw Assange's asylum status came after the 'repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols' and his 'discourteous and aggressive behaviour'.

In a statement today, Ecuador's president added that he had asked Britain to guarantee that Assange would not be extradited to any country where he could face torture or the death penalty.

The news of his arrest was immediately confirmed by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Twitter, who said that 'no one was above the law'.

In a statement this morning, Scotland Yard said: 'Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador, Hans Crescent, SW1 on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court on 29 June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court.

'He has been taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible.

'The MPS had a duty to execute the warrant, on behalf of Westminster Magistrates' Court, and was invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum.'